If I Get to Five: What Children Can Teach Us About Courage and Character (Living Planet Book)

Fred Epstein, M.D., a pediatric neurosurgeon who pioneered life-saving procedures for previously inoperable tumors in children, shares lessons learned from his patients about courage, compassion, and resilience. Epstein overcame severe learning disabilities in childhood to pursue medicine. Throughout his career as a leading pediatric neurosurgeon, he treated children other doctors had given up on, driven by his conviction that he cannot accept children dying. His patients and their families know him as Dr. Fred, the "miracle man." Epstein views his young patients as his most important teachers, describing them as giants rather than fragile people. If I Get to Five recounts experiences and lessons in courage, compassion, love, and hope drawn from his work with children—lessons applicable to overcoming adversity at any life stage. The book was written as Epstein recovered from a near-fatal head injury, allowing him to reflect on these experiences in parallel with his own recovery.