Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Emily Falcon. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Emily, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I have always been a very private person. I do not share details about my medical history with most people. After my second open-heart surgery at age 35, I decided it was time to take a risk and share my journey. The best way to do this was to write a memoir. I wrote a book about my health journey that chronicles my glaucoma and congenital heart condition. It details my medical care, the ups and downs of my life with chronic illness and what has helped me to succeed.

I was scared to be vulnerable and show weakness. I didn’t want to remember a lot of the painful memories and events that I’ve gone through when writing but I knew I had to in order to get my message out. I wrote From the Sidelines to the Finish Line to help patients in similar positions see a way forward and help families and caregivers gain insight into a loved one’s medical struggles. This is the book I wish I’d had to get me through hard times.

Through posting on social media and attending events I’ve had to be brave to tell my story to the world and be willing to discuss any questions that readers come up with. I’ve only had positive responses. Everyone can relate somehow to my story even if they haven’t experienced chronic illness themselves.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I was born in 1982 and at seven weeks old, I had a heart attack that destroyed forty percent of the left side of my heart. I was diagnosed with a cardiac condition. This was my entry into a world of multiple cardiac procedures, surgeries, and hospitalizations, and a later diagnosis of glaucoma. Balancing this serious condition defined my life.

I have written a memoir that chronicles my lifelong journey with a congenital cardiac condition. From the Sidelines to the Finish Line: A Chronic Illness Survivor’s Challenges and Everyday Triumphs details how an eight-inch chest scar from my first open-heart surgery at age six, multiple daily medications, modified physical school activities, and frequent trips to doctors broadcast to the world that I was different. My memoir is a story of survival and of how my physical situation shaped and limited me, as well as of how I was able to make modifications to allow me to do the things I dreamed of. I never surrendered, never wavered. I always forged onward. Unlike survivors of sudden traumatic illness or accidents that saddled them with newly acquired limitations, I have an uncommon perspective, from both a child’s and adult’s point of view, having experienced a rare chronic illness from birth.

In 2017, at age thirty-five, after a lifetime of feeling that nothing could ever change, I had a second open-heart surgery and went from being unable to run more than a few yards to developing as an athlete who participated in my first athletic event, a 5K race, just eight months after open-heart surgery. I was no longer stuck on the sidelines. My new unrestricted life freed me to move away from the comfort of my medical team and family in Boston to Alaska, where physical challenges were part of everyday life.

The skills and knowledge of my medical team, endless support from my family, and my own dogged perseverance enabled me to live a life no one ever dreamed was possible. No one and nothing, least of all my body, is holding me back anymore. I want to fully explore my abilities after a lifetime of restrictions and live my motto to the fullest: “Don’t waste a second.” By sharing aspects of my journey, I hope my insights can inspire people who doubt their own resilience.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

As an author, I had to send out many queries to see if publishers were interested in my story. Many responded that they liked the idea but were not interested in representing me. It was very discouraging to be knocked down so many times.
I pivoted from commercial publishing to thinking about self-publishing instead. Contacts led me to someone who said they would help me self-publish my book if I re-wrote many key scenes in my book. I did so, and when I went back with the new pages I was told the business model had changed and they were no longer helping self-publish. They could help in other ways, but I had to publish and hire my own staff of graphic designers and editors on my own.

I thought about this decision for a long time and initially decided not to go ahead with my book. Then I took some time away from everything and realized how much time and energy I’d spend on everything and I didn’t want my efforts to disappear. I decided to go ahead with becoming a sole proprietor and set up a business and decided to publish my book! After over five years of hard work, my book came out in November 2023!

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

I have never wanted to be a boss. I have always been happy to take direction. In order to self-publish my book, I had to hire staff. All of my staff and I worked together on Zoom. We never met in person so we had to bond over the screen. The ages and backgrounds of everyone were varied.

I tried to be informal with my staff, very casual and open to discussion on all things. I always asked them for their opinions and what they would do differently. I had to be the final decision maker but I wanted people to feel they could approach me with new ideas and could always come to me with concerns. I tried to always present a positive attitude even with tight deadlines and unexpected problems. I didn’t want my employees to feel stress or that they weren’t appreciated. I wanted everyone to be happy with their work and colleagues. We met as a group and individually so everyone could share ideas or concerns. I never wanted anyone to feel more valued than the other person. I set clear deadlines and expectations but I didn’t micromanage and let the staff run with their ideas to see where they went.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.babyheartspress.com/emily-falcon
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/from_sidelines_to_finish_line/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091344267879