What was it about Terri Schindler Schiavo and her tragic case that captivated the world? It's a question that I suspect many of you asked yourselves during the media firestorm that surrounded this long drama which ended in the dehydration and starvation death of a beautiful, courageous woman.

The answer is before our eyes. It was her humanity, her courage, and a will of iron that kept her alive in the face of determined efforts that began in 1998 to remove the tube that nourished her. And it was not only pro-lifers who were stirred by her helplessness. Disability rights activists told the world over and over again that if a severely brain-injured woman can suffer this ghastly fate, the same mentality that justified her death could be applied to other categories of people with disabilities.

We were equally captivated by the tenacity and unwavering love of her family. Bob and Mary Schindler, her parents, and Bobby Schindler and Suzanne Schindler Vitadamo, her siblings, were the models of loyalty. The Schindler family reminded us of what it means to be a family. And this made a permanent impression upon all of us.

But what happens when love isn't enough? Why did so many people want Terri to die? What would you do if it was your loved one with a disability who received an irreversible death sentence through a court order? These are the questions that Terri's family, the Schindlers, attempt to answer in their book, A Life That Matters: The Legacy of Terri Schiavo--A Lesson for Us All.

Primarily written through the eyes of Terri's devoted mother, Mary Schindler, A Life That Matters begins March 30, 2005, the night before Terri died. Powerless to save their daughter and sister, a woman about to die after 13 days without food or fluids, the family endures an unspeakably sad and tumultuous night.

From the day of her tragic death, the book shifts to the day of her still unexplained collapse in 1990 which left her with severe brain injuries but not in a so-called "persistent vegetative state."

From there, A Life That Matters flashes back to fond memories of Terri's and her siblings' childhoods in suburban Philadelphia. The book then traces Terri's life as she grew up, eventually becoming the woman who is today recognized worldwide.

A Life That Matters details what the Schindlers describe as "the fight for Terri's Life." The book gives a never-before-told perspective on the years of the uphill battle in which the Schindlers fought Terri's husband, who wished to remove Terri's feeding tube. Throughout all of this time, the Schindlers asked only that they be able to bring Terri home and care for her. And along almost every step of the way, they were rebuffed by a string of state and federal courts.

Shifting between intensely personal memories shared by each family member, A Life That Matters paints an honest and vivid picture of who Terri really was. Instead of the one-dimensional portrait we read in most media accounts, those who knew Terri best present a very real picture of a woman who loved life.

When NRL News editor Dave Andrusko asked if I would review A Life That Matters I was, perhaps like many of you might be, initially hesitant to read this book. I simply did not want to relive the horror of her death or her family's struggle to save her.

And yet, I found that it was in reading the Schindler's painful and yet inspiring account of the events surrounding Terri's life and death that I gained a new perspective on the war that the euthanasia movement has waged on our country. For euthanasia enthusiasts, there are no civilians in this war, only additional vulnerable people who live "unworthy lives."

A Life That Matters left me with a renewed awe of the heroism, strength, and humility of Terri and her family. And the fight will not end for the Schindlers with Terri's unnecessary death. Through their work in the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation, they are dedicating the rest of their lives to helping families in similar crises.

Reading this book was healing for me, and I believe that it will be for you, too. In Mary Schindler's final reflections, she talks of the groundswell of support both during Terri's life and after her death.

She writes, "Condolences poured in from all over the world. It became clear to us that Terri's life, her suffering and death, had touched the lives of thousands, if not millions, of people. She belongs to them now, I thought with a touch of regret. We must share her."

A Life That Matters does just that. The book shares the real Terri with the rest of the world, the good times and the bad, and leaves the reader with a burning desire to do their part to protect vulnerable human life.

So who should read A Life That Matters? Everyone! Many do not realize that what happened to Terri could happen to them or to their loved ones. Every day in our country, people with disabilities and the medically dependent are denied basic care such as food and water, with the intent of hastening their deaths.

And it will only be through the work of groups such as the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation and organizations such as National Right to Life and, most important, through the assistance of people like you, that we will be able to protect others from a torturous death like Terri's.

Need another reason to read A Life That Matters? All proceeds of A Life That Matters will go to the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation. For more information on how to order this book, visit www.terrisfight.org.