When Ralph Bear was diagnosed with leukemia he was told he had 9 years to live and would be dead by 65. There was nothing he could do to strengthen the odds. But more than a decade later Ralph continued to outlive his diagnosis and was inspired to create a resource for others: Patient Stories. A compilation of real-life interviews, Patient Stories gives a voice and encounter of people who have been diagnosed with a life-changing disease or illness, and what they do on a day-to-day basis to stay healthy. The author gives a first-person narrative for each story that leaves the individual's tone of their experiences. What started with one man's determination to survive, continues with a journalist who's met with people around the United States to hear—and share—what they've overcome, how they continue to thrive, and what health and life means today.