Customer Reviews

If I Get to Five: What Children Can Teach Us About Courage and Character

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IF I GET TO FIVE: WHAT CHILDREN HAVE TAUGHT ME ABOUT COURAGE AND CHARACTER is more than just a biography focusing on the great accomplishments of Dr. Fred. This nonfiction is more of a vigorous lesson that when it seems all but over in the bottom of the ninth, still swing the bat of life. Dr. Fred provides anecdotals from his mentoring tutors, the many children whose lives touched his.

The book also bolsters those with disabilities to achieve more than the expectations of those around them by conquering the Pygmalion Effect. Dr. Fred overcame his own childhood handicaps and a recent one as an adult due to an accident.

In many ways this is an Art Linkletter bio, but the stakes are everything worthwhile. Well written and inspirational, Fred Epstein, M.D, and Joshua Horwitz provide realistic hope in the darkest moment by encouraging adults to heed the advice of their little ones who, even when death nears, show what life is all about.

Harriet Klausner

It is interesting that Dr. Fred Epstein - the subject of countless television and news stories who refer to him as a "miracle man" - chooses to assume only a supporting role in this collection of stories about his young patients. Perhaps the reason Dr. Epstein has created so many miracles in the lives of others is that he so deeply respects the forces of life and hope within us all. He reminds us of the importance of faith - saying in one of my favorite passages "I've found that when you're filled with anger and fear, it helps to be able to believe. It doesn't matter what you believe in - I've seen kids sustained through terrible ordeals by their belief in Tinkerbell - as long as you believe in something. Even if it's just a God to curse and berate. If you don't believe in anything, you're sunk." For anyone who has experienced a test of faith, this book will resonate. With stories like Dr. Fred's, there is always reason to wish, to hope and to believe.

My daughter was born while we still lived in NEW YORK....When my daughter was born, she had craniosynostosis, the fusing of the bones of her skull. At 6 months old, he took us in without and hesitation and assured us that she would be fine and there's nothing to worry about. This was on a Friday nite of the 4th of July weekend. During the years, we have emailed and i've sent photos of my daughter to him so that he may see his accomplishment. If there is a god, it is he. Thank you, Dr. Fred, and to your wonderful family. You are indeed an amazing man.

Dr. Epstein cuts to the core of a small but intense world, one that is experienced by few but should be seen by all. The sudden and tragic turns that patients and families undergo bring out and magnify what we all cherish in children. These stories and dialog represent the values of one of the world's truly great men, allowing us to appreciate his thoughts and emotions like few would allow, and teach us how to live life and not simply live through life. I simply can not recommend this book, which serves an example to some and a lesson to all, more highly to anyone, at any age.

If you want to be moved, inspired, enlightened, and truly amazed by the human spirit, then read Dr. Epstein's book! This is a book that truly personifies what it means to be human, and Epstein should receive the Nobel Prize for this amazing account of the lessons he learned from treating children with life-threatening conditions. Epstein is also a prime example of what I call AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP and so now I have a new hero when I speak to others! My consulting company-Creative Visions Consulting--focuses on improving the leadership skills of others and so now I have a new resource--Dr. Epstein--to point people to so the men and women in corporations don't forget what it's like to lead with their hearts and not just their bottom lines! Thank you, Dr. Fred, for one of the BEST BOOKS of 2003 and one of the greatest reads EVER!!!!

I know one of the children profiled in the book. It is true, and without exaggeration, this extraordinary boy would not be alive today (he is now 19) without Dr. Epstein and his incredible medical team.

A wonderful, inspiring read on so many levels.

During the summer or 2004, I was at a junction in my professional path where I found myself in desperate need of encouraging words. I went into the hospital bookstore and found this. The book is simple, the narrative is not as flamboyant as John Stone's "In the Country of Hearts", but it strikes a chord, confirming a fact that we already know to be true: children are much more capable of opening their hearts and minds than adults. To capture the stories of these patients requires a man of courage and character, and I get the feeling that it's exactly what makes Fred Epstein a very special man, and physician.

On a side note, this book was instrumental in finding a neurosurgeon for my niece's classmate. I had just read the book, and gave it to my mother to read. Just two weeks after she got the book, we heard that this little girl had a tumor and had been flown to see some specialists in Miami. After communicating with that family, they were able to get a consult from Dr. Epstein, and she is now recovering, although her prognosis still remains uncertain.

Doctor Epstein has highlighted so many lessons for life
that he learned from these children that were patients.
Any adult could really benefit from reading the lessons for
having a more fulfilled life with whatever time we have left.
It is not only moving and exciting but is also a text book
for happy living, regardless of circumstances.

your heart feels every emotion. You can read this book in one day you will not want to put it down. Page to page you want to know what is going to happen to Dr. Fred. Not often can learn of someones struggles, and ask the hard qusetions to yourself. The "whys" in this man's life are hard to understand. Until you know that to him living is enough. This book will make you laugh, cry, never want to give up.

I had to read this for a class. Thing is, I went in thinking it was too fluffy and idealistic. But for some reason I couldn't stop reading, and when I was half way through it I realized that I was actually being affected by the readings. I recommend it for anyone who enjoys inspirational stories, who are going through hard times with a medically fragile child, or who need to be reminded why they got into the health profession in the first place. He writes about many of his patients, the lessons each one taught him about life, how he deals with pain and loss, and explains medical jargon. I enjoyed this book and would gladly recommend it to anyone who asked about it.