Salt in My Soul: An Unfinished Life

By: Mallory Smith

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Synopsis: 'I could title my memoir Ode to Salt since salt is part and parcel of the cystic fibrosis experience. I've noticed the healing effects of the ocean since I was a little girl... I feel as if there's salt in my soul.'Mallory Smith was three when she was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. Despite understanding from a young age that she would never lead a normal life, Mal was determined to 'live happy', a mantra she carried in her heart as she excelled academically, trained as an athlete and had a profound impact on all who knew her. Even when she contracted a lethal superbug at the age of fifteen, Mallory continued to rage against the illness that tried to bind her to a life of hospital rooms and respiratory tubes - so she would not 'just end up as ashes scattered in the ocean and nothing else.' After her death, she left instructions to her mother to publish her secret diaries - revealing untold struggles, teenage dreams, wisdom beyond her years and a deep, primal desire to leave her mark on this world.Equally uplifting and heart-rending, devastating and inspiring, Salt in My Soul is the extraordinary story of a girl who wanted to be nothing but ordinary, and changed the lives of others through her hope, resilience and boundless empathy.