Book excerpt: Imagine yourself as a senior in high school, at a successful turning point in your life: you excel in academics and extracurricular activities as you strive to make your way to college. You have achieved the first steps to becoming an independent adult, and everything seems to be going your way. You are fearless with unlimited potential. And then . . . Bang! On a family hunting trip in Mexico, your life is changed forever when you are shot in the face. The lights go out; you cant see anything. All of a sudden, the independence, the promise of a meaningful future you were working so hard to attain, has seemingly been stripped from you. You find yourself lying on the couch in the dark. Time is ticking by and opportunities are fading Do you give up or get up?