Terminally Ill Nat'l Guardsman's Book To Sons Hits Shelves
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - At the height of his military career in 2010, Lt. Col. Mark Weber was forced to face a different kind of life-and-death battle. He was diagnosed with cancer and given just months to live.
"Doctors have told me there's no reason I should be alive. They cannot understand how I'm still alive. I have damage to my liver that is incomprehensible," Weber said.
That was November of last year, just before Weber's book was self-published. "Tell My Sons: A Father's Last Letters" sold 10,000 copies in three months.
Random House Publishing picked it up, and it will be available in bookstores across the country on Tuesday.
"I didn't write this to be an anchor for my boys to carry around their necks for the rest of their lives. I wrote this as something to be inspired by," he said.
Weber says his book is about life lessons for his three sons to live by after he's gone.
He'll also appear on the cover of Parade Magazine for Father's Day - the most widely read magazine in the United States.
"How this stuff actually happens, I don't know. But I think my boys will look at it and say that I'm over-priced stock," he said.
With sense of humor strongly intact, Weber knows time with his family is precious. But in one way or another, he plans on helping his sons through life's never-ending lessons.
"Figuring out the courage and the constant search for wisdom to get through that all, and to get through it all as honestly as you can. That's what I want for my boys," he said.
Weber and his wife are donating half of the proceeds of his book to help others overcome hardships and grief.
