Two words have the power to change a person’s outlook: good . . . considering. Jothy Rosenberg has heard this nearly his whole life, starting at age sixteen when bone cancer led to an above-knee amputation of his right leg. Three years later, when cancer forced the removal of a lung and acted like a death sentence, this epithet continued. Rosenberg grew tired of only being “good considering” his disability. In the decades since he beat cancer, he has used athletics to overcome this social stigma. He turned his disability into a superability, often performing in challenging open water swims, cancer-fundraising bike rides, and treacherous skiing adventures better than “two-leggers.” And in the business world, when working in a reliable position failed to quench his need for risk taking, he plunged into entrepreneurship, launching several high-tech startup companies.

In Who Says I Can’t, Rosenberg teaches by example how everyone can overcome life’s obstacles to achieve and overachieve. Through his stories he shows that when the world says you can’t, courage and determination prove you can be more than “good considering.” You can be better than the rest. Not only that, you can use a positive attitude to inspire and stomp out stereotypes one leg at a time.

Author Bio:

Jothy Rosenberg, north of 50 by a little bit, is an above knee amputee caused by osteosarcoma in 1973. Three years later the cancer metastasized and 2/5 of his lungs had to be removed. A course of chemotherapy -- only just out in clinical use in 1976 -- is probably why he is still here today. He went on to get a PhD in computer science, be on the faculty of Duke University for five years, to author two technical books, to found seven high tech companies, to ride in the Pan-Masscahusetts Challenge bike-a-thon supporting the Dana-Farber cancer institute seven years, to swim sixteen times from Alcatraz to San Francisco to support Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program. All told his athletic fundraising efforts to date have netted the charities over $100,000. Jothy has a wonderful wife, three kids, a grandson as well as a multitude of golden retrievers. Much of the book takes place when he lived in the Santa Cruz area for 9 years. He now lives (and swims, and bikes) in Newton, Massachusetts. He wrote this book to try to share what he learned in over 35 years living as a cancer survivor, an amputee, as someone who has recovered from very intense life trauma, in the hope it accelerates that learning for those in a similar situation and perhaps motivates and inspires those just needing a little lift.

Jothy transfers a portion of the proceeds from this book to the O'Brien Osteosarcoma fund at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

Praise for . . .:

"Jothy Rosenberg is not a celebrity but an Everyman, which gives his wrenching story of astonishing grit its inspirational power. After being told when he was 19 that he had no chance of surviving the cancer that had already cost him one leg and one lung, Jothy made a decision. He would ski until he died. Instead he became one of the first beneficiaries of then-primitive chemotherapy, a champion one-legged, one-lunged skier, swimmer and cyclist, and an early model of how to triumph over cancer and disability. For anyone trying to turn a cancer diagnosis, disability, or just a major life challenge into a character-building experience, this well-written book is indispensable."

-- Jonathan Alter, Newsweek Magazine columnist, MSNBC commentator, cancer survivor

"The PMC coined the term Living Proof some 15 years ago. Nobody epitomizes that phrase, or our mission, better than Jothy Rosenberg. The challenges he has faced in his life have been hurdles, not walls, to leading a fulfilling life. In a world overflowing with hype and artifice, Jothy’s journey and triumph is real and inspirational. He is a true role model."

-- Billy Starr

Founder/Executive Director, Pan-Mass Challenge

"Anything is possible-and Jothy's courageous journey proves that. In his book, you find the inspiration to take the first steps yourself towards a life of greater happiness and wellbeing."

-- Uta Pippig

Legendary marathoner and president of Take The Magic Step

"When I entered medicine, most patients with bone cancers like Jothy's died. Jothy Rosenberg's story is compelling and a testament to both the power of the patient's will to live and to be a functioning member of society."

-- Mark C. Gebhardt, M.D. , Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery Harvard Medical School and Orthopaedic Surgeon-in-Chief, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center