Book excerpt: Janice Santos is living proof that it is always better to get up after falling down. In her inspirational memoir, Janice chronicles a story of unwavering faith, courage, and resilience while detailing how she bravely took on each challenge and obstacle thrown her way and continued to rise above it all, even in the face of death. While growing up in the rural South as a daughter of sharecroppers, Santos reveals a happy childhood filled with love, despite their meager surroundings. As the family traveled to California with hope of a better life, Santos details how she dealt with bullies and embarked on a unique coming-of-age journey that eventually led her to New York on September 10, 2011, without any idea of how much her life would change the next morning. It turns out that being alone in New York during one of the worst events in the history of America was symbolic of a fight that would come years later for Santos. Still Rising chronicles one woman’s journey from the rural South to the California coast, where she summoned strength from within, God, and her experiences in New York on 9/11 as she bravely faced the battle of her life and learned to stand up for what is right.