by J. L. Berg
126. Go bungee jumping
127. Be a organ donor
128. Watch the sunrise from a mountain top
129. See a waterfall
130. Go kayaking
131. Save someone’s life
132. Paint the walls of my own house
133. Go to Disneyland
134. Scuba dive
135. Go hot tubbing
136. Go skiing
137. Spend an entire day on the beach
138. Visit someone in the hospital
139. Learn to shoot a gun
140. Go on a road trip
141. Serve jury duty
142. Make a new friend
143. Live until I’ve seen it all
Dear Reader,
Congenital heart defects (CHD) affect nearly 1% of the population. In the United States, roughly 40,000 babies are born with CHD a year. While Lailah’s plight was fictional, the disease is not. Many children suffer their entire lives while others don’t make it past infancy.
When I began my research on heart defects and chronic diseases, the amount of information I unearthed in a short amount of time made my head spin. It was overwhelming and completely confusing because it really was a whole different world—a part of life I’d never thought of.
Clicking through pages of research and reading endless statistics made me realize one thing. I had no idea what it must feel like to have my entire life revolve around something so crucial and vast that it could eclipse your entire world. I decided I needed to find someone who did.
That’s when I found Becca Atherton. Becca is twenty-one and has been living with CHD her entire life. Faced with the vey imminent reality of a heart and lung transplant, she is one of the bravest and brightest young women I’ve ever encountered. Stumbling across her blog “Living as a Chronically Ill Young Adult” was like cracking a window into a world I’d barely begun to understand and I can’t thank her enough for letting me take a peek inside.
Meeting Becca, hearing about her life and the struggles she’s had to overcome really became my inspiration when writing Lailah. Becca shared stories with me, gave me her own “Someday list” and helped make sure I was portraying the life of a CHD patient correctly.
I just hope I’ve done her justice.
You can help Becca and the thousands of others suffering from CHD by donating to The Children’s Heart Foundation at www.childrensheartfoundation.org
Also, if you’d like to visit Becca’s blog and tell her how amazing she is in your own words, please do so at http://lifeasachronicallyillteen.blogspot.com
Thank you for taking this journey with me. I hope you’ve enjoyed Lailah and Jude’s story as much as I did creating it. Love truly does conquer all.
—J.L.
Be the Song—Foy Vance
Mercury—Sleeping At Last
All of Me—John Legend
Layla—Eric Clapton
You’re Beautiful—James Blunt
Holding a Heat (Stripped Version)—Toby Lightman
Dust to Dust—The Civil Wars
Human—Christina Perri
A Drop in the Ocean—Ron Pope
Beating Heart—Ellie Goulding
You Found Me—The Fray
When the Darkness Comes—Colbie Caillat
Angel—Sarah McLachlan
Lost—Toby Lightman
Bring Me to Life—Evanescence
Find a Way—SafetySuit
Story of My Life—One Direction
A Sky Full of Stars—Coldplay
Slow And Steady—Of Monsters and Men
Blue Ocean Floor—Justin Timberlake
Wings—Birdy
Only Time—Enya
My Immortal—Evanescence
Breath of Life—Florence and the Machine
If I Die Young—The Band Perry
Born into wealth and privilege, free-spirited Liv Quinn left it all behind when she realized there was more to life than living off of trust funds and barely skating by. Since then, she’s worked and fought for everything she’s earned and never looked back at the world or the family she left behind.
Jackson Reid is starting over with a new job in a brand new city. A single father to his son Noah, he hopes the change will help strengthen the bond that has seemed to suffer since puberty reared its ugly head. What he hadn’t planned on was Liv—his exotic next-door neighbor who drives him insane with her wild, new age lifestyle, but still manages to leave him aching for more.
As challenges arise and feelings intensify, will these neighbors be able to look past their differences and find a middle ground? When love comes knocking, will they be ready, or not?
The Ready Series continues with…
Writing a book is like giving away a tiny piece of your soul. Every word is precious, every sentence is sacred and at the end…all you can do is hope and pray the world understands the level of responsibility you’ve given by entrusting them with such a gift.
When I began this writing journey over a year ago, it was just me and my supportive family. Since then, my support system has grown exponentially.
To my husband—my forever #1 fan, I love you. You are my soulmate, best friend and you will forever trump any book boyfriend I create because they’re all based on you.
To my two beautiful girls—Thank you for being the most awesome cheerleaders a mother could ask for. Hannah—Thank you for writing me the panda poem. You are now a published author! Go brag to your friends! Em—Never stop being you. And no, you can’t read Mommy’s books yet.
My parents and family—Thank you so much for the endless support and love.
Leslie—You are the raddest best friend a girl could ask for. Never stop sending me fart jokes and inappropriate videos. Everyone needs fart jokes in their life, especially me.
Carey and Melissa—We make the best three-way ever created. Thank you for the hours of chats, car rides and counseling. Every author needs friends like you.
To my awesome beta readers—Christy, Michelle, Danielle S, Danielle B, Carey, Melissa, Sarah, Jennifer, Staci , Shera, Whitney and Becca. Thank you so much for helping me make WTW the best it could be!
Bloggers—Thank you. Seriously. Thank you for everything you do for indie authors everywhere—the endless hours of pimping, reviewing and loving the books we write. It is so greatly appreciated.
Jovana and Ami—Thank you for being awesome. I couldn’t have picked a better editing team. Each and every book I write is perfected and flawless because of the two of you.
Kelsey Keeton—Seriously? Seriously. Look at that photo on my cover? Do I need to say more? Best photographer ever. Oh and #thepuddingmatters
Sarah Hansen—I don’t know how you do it but every book, you manage to capture exactly what I want, and I don’t even seem to know I want it yet. You are a genius. Oh yes, and AHHHH!!!!!! (Was that a good freak out?)
Storm and Elizabeth—Thank you for bringing Jude and Lailah to life on this cover. It truly is breathtaking. Also, thank you for posing with the pudding cups. Those pictures were fun to look through!
Stacey Blake—Thank you so much for making each book I write absolutely gorgeous. You are a formatting genius!!
Tara (and everyone at Inkslingers PR)—Thank you for being the best publicist ever.
To my amazing readers—Like dessert, I always save the best for last. Thank you supporting me and my family. Thank you for loving my characters and the stories I create. And mostly, thank you for being you.
Never stop dreaming.
—J.L.
J.L. Berg is the USA Today bestselling author of the Ready Series. She is a California native living in the beautiful state of historic Virginia. Married to her high school sweetheart, they have two beautiful girls that drive them batty on a daily basis. When she's not writing, you will find her with her nose stuck in a romance novel, in a yoga studio or devouring anything chocolate. J.L. Berg is represented by Jill Marsal of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency, LLC.
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J.L. Berg, Within These Walls