Greetings. It is my pleasure to introduce you to Challenges Accepted. During my life, I have been blessed in many ways, but I have also had to overcome an exceptional amount of adversity. These many trials and tribulations happened at different ages and for different reasons. Just a few examples would include losing my parents at a young age, having to work two jobs to survive, and graduating from college at the age of sixty-eight.

Also, since 2003, I have suffered from debilitating illnesses, including five heart attacks and being paralyzed from the waist down. One doctor described me as being immortal, and another one told my family that I would be dead within twenty-four hours if an infection in my blood system could not be located. My medical history from one hospital in Charlottesville, Virginia, is over six hundred pages long.

However, Challenges Accepted is not just about my misfortunes. What is more important is how I grew stronger with each hardship and was able to recover from tragedies. Please join me as I travel back along my journey of life. It is my hope that you will be inspired by my book and it will help you overcome the hardships that you may encounter in your life.

-Jim Cecil

PS: Did I mention that my story is interwoven with humor?