Book By Teen With Cystic Fibrosis Becomes National Bestseller

Los Angeles-based 15-year-old Claire Wineland's memoir, "Every Breath I Take: Surviving and Thriving with Cystic Fibrosis", is now an Amazon bestseller. Claire, who has lived with cystic fibrosis all of her life, co-authored the book, which was released just a few months ago, with Chynna Bracha Levin.

"Every Breath I Take" explains how to live as normal a life as possible while taking care of a condition that requires constant treatment and frequent hospitalization. "I believe in making the best of what life gives you," Wineland says.

All proceeds from the book will be donated to the foundation Claire founded in 2010, Claire's Place Foundation, a non-profit organization designed to help children and families affected by Cystic Fibrosis. To read more about the foundation and make a donation, visit the website (http://www.clairesplacefoundation.org), which has generously been hosted by BlitzMetrics at no cost to the foundation.

Her now bestseller book joins her extensive series of videos and an informational website to carry Claire's message on how to survive and thrive with CF. With a large social media following and frequent TV appearances including ABC's "Everyday Health", Wineland continues to find new ways to spread her message of hope, spirituality and gratitude to fellow sufferers, their families, and teens everywhere.

About the Book
What is it like being a child with a life-threatening illness? It can be difficult for parents, family, and friends to understand, because the experience of serious illness is so hard to articulate. Claire Wineland's memoir, "Every Breath I Take", is co-authored with Chynna Bracha Levin, daughter of celebrity ghost writer Michael Levin. In the often poignant, sometimes humorous book, Claire describes with precision, honesty, and a remarkable sense of humor just what it's like to live with an illness that is so often fatal. "Every Breath I Take" depicts Claire staying positive while dealing with daily treatment routines, frequent hospitalization and painful procedures. Yet there's nothing grim about Claire's journey as she describes it. Claire finds the sunny side of life and the spirituality of her experiences in ways that captivate and amaze the reader. It's impossible to come away from the book without a renewed sense of compassion and sensitivity toward anyone suffering from a serious illness. The book is required reading for anyone-adult or child-who wants to understand how to survive and thrive, under even the most challenging circumstances.

In other Claire's Place Foundation news, Claire's new online tutorial for youths fighting Cystic Fibrosis, CF University, developed and donated by Mark Kaplan of Kaplan Digital, has recently launched. The online hub assists others dealing with CF by providing information, tools and techniques for dealing with everyday life with the disease. Here users will have everything from craft ideas when you are stuck at the hospital, tips on traveling with an illness, decoding "doctor talk," connecting CF families with each other, and tips for finding support and resources.

"Sharing everything I have learned, and providing a forum for positive and supportive members to share their experiences in a space that is open and fun for everyone, is our goal with CF University. Cystic Fibrosis is a roller coaster, but hopefully CF University can give and share some of the tools, the laughter, and the knowledge you need to get through it all," said Claire.

Claire's Place Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit organization designed to help children and families affected by Cystic Fibrosis. Claire's Place Foundation is named in honor of Claire Wineland, now a teenager, who has been living with cystic fibrosis her entire life.
Claire and her parents want other families to experience the benefit from the kind of support that they received and continue to get; hence, this is the motivation for the foundation. Claire's experiences have catapulted her into a position of being a spokesperson and an inspirational model for people living with this disease. She has documented and created videos on how to enjoy life with CF and live life to the fullest. Claire's Place Foundation is a way for Claire to give back and make meaning of what she has had to go through; the foundation is her way to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.