Reviewed by Ingrid Duran

Editor’s note. Yesterday was the fifth anniversary of the tragic death of Terri Schindler Schiavo.

Written by the family of Terri Schindler Schiavo, this wonderful book gives the reader a private peek into the lives of Terri's family. It is a true story of a family's love and dedication for Terri and how the tragedy of her unnecessary death bonded an already tightly-knit family even closer.

Terri's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, and her brother Bobby and sister Suzanne Schindler Vitadamo

"A Life That Matters: The Legacy of Terri Schiavo – A Lesson for Us All" provides a detailed account on the history of Terri's case, leading up to` the point where Terri's story catches the attention of the national media and she becomes a household name.

Her family painfully recounts the heart-wrenching circumstances that lead to a public battle to keep Terri alive. As most readers of this blog know, Terri suffered a devastating injury when her brain was deprived of oxygen, February 25, 1990.

This book describes how at first the family and Terri's husband, Michael Schiavo, were all in agreement to provide rehabilitation for Terri. Michael Schiavo and Terri's mother, Mary Schindler, even develop a close relationship in the beginning, rotating shifts and taking care of Terri. Then for his own reasons Mr. Schiavo began a long legal battle which culminated in the withdrawal of Terri's food and water. On March 31, 2005, at approximately 9:05 am, after almost 14 days without nutrition or hydration, Terri died from severe dehydration.

In the book the Schindlers share their intense disappointment with the judicial system which repeatedly failed to protect a citizen suffering from a brain injury. This book also describes the other struggles the family encounters apart from saving Terri's life. They also fought to change the hearts and minds of the media since the public was already convinced that Terri was in a so-called persistent vegetative state (PVS), which, in fact, she was not. Furthermore, they fought the belief that it was acceptable to withdraw food and water from people who were considered to be in PVS, thereby causing their death.

The Schindlers write so that we learn just how courageous their daughter/sister actually was. She remained strong and never gave up; in turn they never gave up on their precious Terri. They did everything in a valiant effort to prevent the judicial system from allowing a vulnerable woman die to by starvation just because she was disabled.

Despite the tremendous heartbreak of losing Terri, the Schindlers recognized that Terri left behind a legacy. They began a foundation in Terri's name at www.terrisfight.org in order to protect people who are disabled so that no person or family would ever have to endure the sadness of losing their Terri, a beautiful and wonderful person, daughter, sister, and friend.