“Salt in My Soul: An Unfinished Life” By Mallory Smith

I read a lot of memoirs because I love that genre the most. Some are very pleasant and easy to read. Others are so courageous and bad ass, that they make you want to stand up and cheer. “Salt in My Soul” by Mallory Smith is in the second category. Diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis at the age of 3, Mallory lived with her disease until she passed away at the age of 25. But in those 25 short years, she not only suffered, but also was able to graduate college from Stanford, travel to Hawaii, fall in love, and start this book that her family would finish and publish after her death. Her father says she was born an old soul, and that makes the story even more poignant because she was certainly not your typical teenager. In the beginning, she often fought with her parents over the frequency of her treatments, sometimes even refusing to do them. But she matured into an advocate for herself. Her diary entries are filled with typical musings of a teenager, and exceptional conversations with the doctors who were helping her manage her disease. Her connections with other young people struggling with CF are even more heart breaking because CF patients are not allowed to be in close contact for fear that they can make each other sicker. I loved this book, first recommended to me by my friend Page, because it is not about a girl learning how to die, but rather a woman learning how to live life to the fullest. She gave her parents specific instructions on what to do and how to publish this book, and I think her mother and father did a beautiful job. In the new year, I will launch a new Lori’s Library Party website that contains my previous reviews from the past four years. I can’t believe it has been four years. Thank you for reading and commenting. In the meantime if you want to purchase Mallory’s book on Amazon please click this link. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.