JustSayYesToLife-Cover-FINAL-2.indd

Bend writer Ellen Santasiero spent much of the past year editing the new book “Just Say ‘Yes’ to Life!” which dropped Monday.

The book collects 26 stories of stroke survivors who found new purpose and meaning in life post-stroke.

“They speak with candor about their worst days, their grit and resilience, and the profound contentment and unexpected bursts of enthusiasm they feel for life today,” according to the website for the book, storiesofstroke.com.

“I was hired one year ago by Stroke Awareness Oregon (strokeawarenessoregon.org) a 4-year-old nonprofit in Bend, to lead a team of volunteer writers to complete this collection of stories of 26 stroke survivors from around the country,” Santasiero told GO! via email. “The goal of ‘Just Say Yes To Life!’ is to offer hope through the stories of real people who have experienced stroke, or some other traumatic health event.”

Santasiero worked with nine writers on the project, and contributed six essays herself. The stories include, according to a press release, those of “a Bend teenager who rebounded well enough to enroll in college a few years after his stroke, a Bay-area physician who reinvented herself as a writer and performer, and a Bend forester who created a chair the world’s never seen before, one that allows those who use wheelchairs to navigate rugged wilderness terrain.”

“Just Say ‘Yes’ to Life, Vol. 1” is available at regional outlets and bookstores and Amazon Marketplace in both print and digital formats.

Find out more at storiesofstroke.com.