Salt in My Soul

'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.