Joel
(Book)

Have you ever walked into a room and had all eyes upon you? Imagine you are in front of hundreds or even thousands of people. Suddenly everyone turns toward you and gasps at your appearance. Always being the center of attention may be your dream. It is my living nightmare. Young children cry and run from me. Older kids have pointed and jeered, Look at the monkey! Adults have demanded, Take off your mask! People have actually walked out of restaurants complaining that I was ruining their meal. This is how Joel Sonnenberg began a high school essay about himself several years ago. Now here is the extraordinary story of Joel Sonnenberg, whose life was forever altered one day, more than twenty years ago, when an 18-wheeler plowed into a line of vehicles waiting at a tollbooth on the New Jersey turnpike. The car Joel was riding in caught fire. By the time he could be pulled from the wreckage, his car seat had melted into him. Joel, only two years old, suffered third-degree burns over 88 percent of his body, losing his ears, nose, fingers, toes, and lips in the process. From the start, doctors believed that Joel would not survive for more than a few hours or days. When he did, the doctors gave the family no real hope that he could ever function well enough to have a meaningful life. But Joel's parents never gave up hope as they continually prayed for his recovery. They never stopped trusting that Joel's life had been spared because God had something special in mind for their son. Not only has Joel beaten all the odds by surviving, he has accomplished so much. In high school, Joel earned all-conference honors on the varsity soccer team that he captained, was elected student body president, and was a prince of the homecoming court. He was an Olympic Torch Bearer in 1996 and was the student speaker at his college commencement ceremony at Taylor University where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in Communication Studies.