The Priority List

David Menasche lived for his work as a high school English teacher. His passion inspired his students, and between lessons on Shakespeare and sentence structure, he forged a unique bond with his kids, buoying them through personal struggles while sharing valuable life lessons.When a six-year battle with brain cancer ultimately stole David's vision, memory, mobility, and -- most tragically of all -- his ability to continue teaching, he was devastated by the thought that he would no...
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David Menasche lived for his work as a high school English teacher. His passion inspired his students, and between lessons on Shakespeare and sentence structure, he forged a unique bond with his kids, buoying them through personal struggles while sharing valuable life lessons.When a six-year battle with brain cancer ultimately stole David's vision, memory, mobility, and -- most tragically of all -- his ability to continue teaching, he was devastated by the thought that he would no longer have the chance to impact his students' lives each day. Cancer had robbed him of his past and would most certainly take his future; but he wouldn't allow it to steal his present. He turned to Facebook with an audacious plan: a journey across America -- by bus, by train, by red-tipped cane -- in hopes of seeing firsthand how his kids were faring in life. Had he made a difference? Within forty-eight hours of posting, former students in more than fifty cities replied with offers of support and shelter.Traveling more than eight thousand miles, and visiting hundreds of his students, David's fearless journey explores the things we all want and need out of life -- family, security, independence, love, adventure -- and forces us to stop to consider our own Priority List.