In the news

• Empowering lung transplant patients through oral history accompanied by a video interview with Festle was part of Elon’s 2012 President’s Report.
• Deep Breaths (pdf) which highlighted Festle, her brothers who had CF, and her former students who conducted interviews, was published in the Summer 2012 issue of The Magazine of Elon.
• Professor’s book on transplants features recipient stories featured Festle and Second Wind on July 10, 2012 in Elon University’s E-Net news.

Reviews

United Network for Organ Sharing

Book review from the July-August UNOS Update – see excerpt below:

This is not a narrative tale with fictional characters and lessons learned. This is a book about real people with real issues and the will to survive, which can provide hope and inspiration. Mary Jo Festle has written a narrative that can be described as powerful, compelling and, perhaps, even breathtaking.

Chad S. Southward, trainer/educator for the professional development team in UNOS’ IT department

What others say about the book

This book is a very interesting, extremely well-researched, and certainly timely history of the procedure of lung transplantation. At its heart are the oral histories and personal accounts of over 45 individuals who have undergone the procedure; their stories, and those of family members, surgeons, transplant coordinators, and donors are bookended by chapters explaining the various life-threatening lung conditions which create the necessity for transplant, the history of the surgical procedure, and the development of allocation policies and procedures for these scarce and fragile organs.

Marcia Meldrum, researcher and lecturer, UCLA Center for Health Services and Society

Simply terrific: very polished, lively, and accessible writing, fascinating stories (and well told) and compelling analysis, a great balance of detail and significance, strong grounding in multiple relevant literatures/fields.

Kathy Nasstrom, associate professor of History, University of San Francisco

Mary Jo  Festle intertwines a fascinating history of lung transplantation with the recipient’s perspective. The experience of recipients accurately portrays a range of outcomes. This history uniquely acknowledges the importance of a  transplant community that has thrived since the rise of the Internet. Today’s transplant recipients pay it forward by sharing their experiences with people who are waiting for a life-saving organ. Festle pays it forward by telling our story.

Kathryn Flynn, double lung recipient, March 25, 1996