On October 22nd 2015, Joni Aldrich and Christopher Jerry had the distinct honor of meeting former First Lady, Rosalynn Carter at a reception held for the Rosalynn Carter Institute’s Annual Global Summit in beautiful Americus, Georgia. On October 23rd, they gave their very first book presentation and subsequent book signing at the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving, with the former First Lady actually in attendance! They were told that the special dedication (pictured below) that the authors made at the beginning of our book, to the Former 39th President of the United States and the Former First Lady, actually brought tears to Mrs. Carter’s eyes when it was read to her the following day!

1. ADVOCACY HEALS U
“Our legacy does not end with the closing of the day or even with our final
breath;
it continues through infinite possibilities for hopeful tomorrows
—one cause, one person at a time.” ~Joni Aldrich
Advocates HEAL THE WORLD!

2. Chris Jerry
Advocate: Preventable Medical Errors

3. “The general public is not sufficiently aware that they are
routinely put at risk within our nation’s medical facilities.
Emily’s death should count for something.”
~Chris Jerry
The Emily Jerry Foundation
www.emilyjerryfoundation.org
Emily Jerry

4. Joni Aldrich
Advocate: Cancer and Caregiving Advocate

5. “The hard lessons we experienced through the cancer
steep learning curve didn’t save Gordon, but others
need to be empowered, alert and involved patients
and caregivers to facilitate the best chance of survival
for others who hear the words ‘you have cancer’.”
~Joni Aldrich
Gordon Aldrich

6. “Like many families…
ours has been through multiple cancer losses.
Mom made it known that cancer would eventually kill
her, but it wasn’t going to take her life in the
meantime.” ~Joni Aldrich
Martha
James

7. Chris and Joni would like to introduce you
to a few of their friends….

8. Debbie Zelman
Advocate: Stomach Cancer

9. “My husband was upset when I first started the
foundation, because he thought I was going to die. He
said, ‘Why don’t you go travel the world, or do something
else you would like to do.’ I said, ‘It actually makes me
stop thinking about me.’”
Debbie’s Dream Foundation
www.debbiesdream.com

10. Toula Wootan
Advocate: Caregiving Advocate
Toula’s Tips for Caregivers
www.toulastipsforcaregivers.com

11. Dottie Pacharis
Advocate: Stigma of Mental Illness
“I want to pay tribute to Scotty, and all he endured.
My hope was that other families would be as outraged
at our failed mental health care system as we were.”

12. Diana Hardeman
Advocate: Stroke Awareness
In 2013, Diana Hardeman had an ischemic stroke
at the age of 30. It was due to a tiny dissection
in the carotid artery in her neck…

13. Rose Gerber
Advocate: Community Oncology Alliance
Patient Advocacy Network
“As a cancer survivor, I understand that the
foundation of successful advocacy is emotional
health and wellbeing.” www.communityoncology.org

14. Sean Swarner
Advocate: Inspirational Cancer Advocate

15. Eva Grayzel
Advocate: Oral Cancer Advocate

16. CHORUS:
“If a canker sore doesn’t go away
It could be oral cancer, catch it early, don’t delay.
Hoarse voice, lump in neck, persistent cough
It could be oral cancer. Don’t shrug it off.”
Oral Cancer Save-A-Life Rap
“My name is Eva Grayzel, I got a story to tell…

17. Allyn Atadero
Advocate: Children’s Safety Advocate

18. “I listened closely as God continued to
whisper.
He told me there are a lot of lost sheep in
this
world, and each and every one of
them brings him the same type of pain
I’m feeling because of my son, Jaryd.”
~Allyn Atadero
Jaryd Atadero
Allyn was told that Jaryd
was killed by a mountain lion
yet not one trace of blood
was found on his clothes.

19. Juliet Aguwa
Advocate: African Women with Breast Cancer
www.couragetodare.org

20. Olive Demby
Talk about the “weight of the world”, Olive
believed that—if she didn’t survive—African
women might say: “Look at her! She fought for
treatment and still failed.” Olive returned home,
but died shortly afterwards due to problems with
her medication.

21. Jonny Imerman
Advocate: Help for Cancer Patients and Caregivers
www.imermanangels.org
From the moment of diagnosis….

22. Dangerous Boobs Tour
Advocates: Heather Reimler, Chiqeeta Jameson,
Wendy Damonte: Dense Breast Tissue Awareness
You cannot tell breast density by look, size or touch. 47%
of women have dense breast tissue (DBT).
Mammography misses over 50% of cancers in women
with DBT.

23. Dr. Richard Taylor
Advocate: From the Mind of a Dementia Patient

24. After Richard received another
catastrophic diagnosis, esophageal cancer, his
message changed from one of information
sharing to one of frustration with a medical
system that
tried to write him off as a hopeless case.
Richard has become a visual symbol of hope
to patients of two very critical illnesses.

25. The Rivas Family
Advocate: Against Drunk Drivers
Kristin Rivas

26. Bethany’s sister, Kristin, has also touched and
changed the lives of thousands of individuals
by sharing her journey of suffering from
traumatic grief over her sister’s death because
of a drunk driver (Kristin attempted suicide
and nearly succeeded).
Bethany Rivas

27. Besides Chris and Joni, there are 95 other advocates
and 58 charitable foundations in Advocacy Heals U, the
book.