Living as a Dead Man: Life Lessons Gained from Losing One Life to Receiving a Greater Purpose

The day Jeff Lester was diagnosed with ALS started his darkest days. Life was over in his mind at that moment. Still single and just before his twenty-seventh birthday, the prospects were bleak. Within a month, he broke his leg, transferred his job to St. Louis, and moved twice. Any glimmer of hope was squashed by the ALS specialist in December 1993. The doctor informed Jeff that he would be lucky to see the age of thirty, so plan a big party as a pseudo funeral. What? Jeff knew he intended to give him something to look forward to, but when someone doesn't have much life experience to celebrate that advice falls flat.Jeff was adrift in despair thus started his winter of discontent. Who would blame Jeff for giving up? However, something happened on the way to his early funeral.God had other plans!Jeff's story is about the destruction of the life he expected to live then rebuilding a new, more purposeful life out of its ashes. Along the way, he weathers huge storms and overcomes what seems to most people insurmountable odds. This occurs while Jeff endures the daily challenges created by the devastation from one of the worst diseases someone can experience.Ultimately, it is a story about being led into the light emerging from the darkness that enveloped his life even before ALS entered it. Jeff learns to focus on the blessings in his life instead of what he has lost and the difficulties he faces. He shares the lessons he learned and what is essential to living a happy and fulfilling life with greater purpose.Anyone who struggles with a problem in their life will find inspiration from Jeff's story to overcome it and see better days.