By Tim Saunders on
A wish can be a powerful thing – it can make a dark place a little brighter, it can ignite a spark of hope. And Rachelle Spark’s new book, Once Upon A Wish, is full of stories that show that, when wishes come true, they can become ultimate motivators and cherished gifts that will last a lifetime.
Once Upon A Wish is an accessible book which includes eight stories of children who have had their wishes granted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The wishes range from dolphin swimming to trips to Disneyland, from wanting to help disabled Cambodians to a girl who wanted to plant a tree in a rain forest. Celebrity encounters are also included – music-lover Serena Butler woke from life-saving surgery to be serenaded by Darren Hayes, the lead singer for Savage Garden.
Each story focuses on how illness affects families and communities, how strangers reach out to help those in their darkest hours, and how the Make-A-Wish Foundation gives hope to children who are facing things nobody should ever have to face. By exploring each case study with compassion and respect, Rachelle Sparks has given us a book of hope, a celebration of the resilience of the human spirit. It is a book that explores how support networks are so important, and how the seriously ill children themselves can sometimes have the insight and inspiration to save those around them from falling apart.
With a foreword by Make-A-Wish co-founder Frank Shankwitz, Once Upon A Wish is an important and powerful testimonial for the organization that has granted nearly 300,000 wishes since it was established 30 years ago.
“You will learn how wishes granted by the foundation give both the children and their families a new focus as they reconnect and have fun together once again, forgetting about illnesses, doctors, and hospitals,” says Shankwitz. “Many children go into remission following the granting of their wish, a phenomenon that doctors cannot even explain; a phenomenon many believe can only come from the power of a wish.”
To find out more about the book, visit OnceUponAWishBook.com. To order the book, you can visit Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.
Publisher: BenBella Books, distributed by Perseus Distribution
ISBN: 978-1-937856-12-0
Page count: 352 pages
Copyright © 2013 Look to the Stars
