Memoir on Surviving Meningitis Lands Author Andy Marso on Coveted Notable Book List

TOPEKA, Kan. - June 23, 2014 - PRLog -- Topeka journalist and author Andy Marso finds himself among 15 authors on the State Library of Kansas’ 2014 Notable Books List with “Worth the Pain: How Meningitis Nearly Killed Me - Then Changed My Life for the Better.” (Kansas City Star Books, Oct. 20, 2013). Visit Kansas City Star Books at http://www.kansascitystarbooks.com/ or any online bookstore site to order either in paperback or ebook.

The Kansas Notable Books List is the annual recognition of 15 outstanding titles by Kansas authors or about Kansas. It is the only honor for Kansas books by Kansans, highlighting the state’s lively contemporary writing community. Throughout the year, the chosen books will be promoted at literary events and among librarians and booksellers.

“I’m very excited about what this means for my story and raising awareness of meningococcal disease. I’m grateful to everyone who believed in this project and helped me bring it to fruition,” Marso says.

“Andy’s book has changed lives, inspiring those with physical challenges not to give up, and educating people on the importance of vaccinations and the symptoms of meningitis,” says Kansas City Star Books Publisher Doug Weaver. “We are grateful to the State Library of Kansas for giving Andy and his book this well-deserved recognition.”

Marso, a Topeka Capital-Journal reporter, penned his memoir about contracting meningitis — a disease that nearly killed him and took parts of all four of his limbs. In this first-person narrative, he details a transformative months-long hospitalization in which he fights for his life and then his limbs. By the time he leaves the hospital, Marso faces a choice: continue to grasp futilely at the easy, comfortable life he knew, or embrace a new life more challenging than he ever imagined.

“Worth the Pain” is one of three non-fiction memoirs to make the list. “Echoes from the Prairie: A Collection of Short Memoirs,” is a modern memoir anthology by Kansas writers in the Great Plains Writers Group and “Biting through the Skin: An Indian Kitchen in America’s Heartland” is Nina Mukergee Furstenau’s memoir and cookbook from a first-generation immigrant’s perspective on growing up in America’s heartland. A complete list of the 15 Notable Books can be found at http://www.kslib.info/notablebooks.

Notable books are chosen by a committee of Kansas Center for the Book (KCFB) Affiliates, Fellows, librarians and authors of previous Notable Books.  The State Librarian makes the selection for the final List. A reception and medal awards ceremony will honor the books and their authors and illustrators on Sept. 13, 2104 at the Kansas Book Festival.

"Worth the Pain" and Kansas City Star Books both have Facebook sites.