Deborah R. Labovitz, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, an occupational therapist for 40 years and chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy at New York University, New York, New York from 1980 to 2000, is currently a professor at NYU and an avid collector of stories about people who have had the kind of miraculous experiences found in this book. She earned her undergraduate degree in occupational therapy and her master's degree and doctorate in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania and is a fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association.
As a wife, mother of three, mother-in-law of three, and grandmother of six, she has seen ordinary miracles of coping and courage in both her professional and personal life. She continues to be amazed, energized, and awed by the achievements of the ordinary people in this book who have accomplished so much and by the occupational therapists who have helped them to do so. At this time in our society, when hope and optimism are so necessary, she hopes that this book of triumphs over adversity will provide you with both.