If a person gets struck by lightning, they could (although it's rare) suffer from a skin irritation called "lightning flowers." A web of fern-like red marks bloom across the skin, caused by the transmission of static electricity along the superficial blood vessels that nourish the skin.

Standefer starts her memoir with a description of this mark and then reveals that she, at the age of 24, had to have a cardiac defribulator implanted into her chest to keep her alive. Katherine--and her younger sister Christine--both suffer from a genetic heart-rhythm condition known as Long QT Syndrome, where the heart occasionally produces short, chaotic heartbeats. During these bouts, the person either faints or, if more serious, dies. Katherine's rugged life in Wyoming and work as a ski instructor are upended by this diagnosis.

This book chronicles Katherine's struggles with the American health insurance system, hospital/doctor care, and--through her queries about the work that goes into mining the minerals/materials to make the defribulators--larger entities, including the corporations that operate the mines and just how much land (and livelihoods of the natives who use the mineral-rich land for food and sustenance) suffer for the development of today's tech. While iPads, etc. are "wants," Katherine's defribulator is a "need," and she feels a certain responsibility for the environmental and personal damage caused by the mines. While discussing these issues, she also relates her personal experiences--the constant worry she'll do something to active the defribulator, finding love amidst chronic illness, losing the ability to pursue the outdoors actitivites she loves, etc.

I enjoyed this one! Katherine read the audiobook, which made the story even more effective and I really felt for the challenging life she has to lead--and that it began when she was so young. If you enjoy personal stories of struggle married with issues of environmental and social justice, I suggest you give this one a listen.