The Unbreakable Boy: A Father's Fear, a Son's Courage and a Story of Unconditional Love, is the raucously tender story of the life of a teenage boy with autism and a rare brittle bone disease who joyfully embraces life's tragedies and triumphs.

Like any other teenage boy, Austin loves pizza, movies, dancing, and girls. But unlike most other eighteen-year-olds, he has a rare brittle bone disease, was locked in a mental ward as a child, and is autistic. Yet Austin doesn't let any of that stop him. Every day is the best day in the world to him and one of his main goals in life is to show his broken father, and anyone else hanging around, that life is all about unabashed faith and love.

Written with remarkable candor by Austin's father, Scott, and New York Times best-selling author Susy Flory, The Unbreakable Boy weaves the beautiful and often humorous tale of how Austin teaches his father—and everyone else he encounters—to have faith in God and trust that one day life's messes will all make sense. Austin's journey dares us all to believe that:

• Miracles are possible.
• Hope does spring eternal.
• We can find joyous moments to celebrate every day.

Austin's magic touch will convince you that whatever life challenges you face can always be answered with love. Grab a front-row seat and learn from the Unbreakable Boy how to live a life of joy, hope, and resilience regardless of your circumstances.

Faith. Trust. Triumph.

""I'm sorry," the doctor said. "He is permanently and totally blind. There is nothing we can do for him.""

"George and Sarah Hingson looked at each other, devastated. Their six-month-old son, Michael was a happy, strawberry blond baby boy, healthy and normal in every way except one. When the Hingsons switched on a light or made silly faces, Michael did not react. Ever. "My best suggestion is that you send him to a home for the blind," the doctor continued. "He will never be able to do anything for himself.""

"Forty-seven years later, a yellow Labrador retriever puppy was born in the whelping unit of Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael, California. The puppy's name was Roselle. On September 11, 2001, she saved Michael's life. This is Roselle's story too. "

--From the Introduction

Every moment in Michael Hingson's and Roselle's lives seemed to lead up to this day. When one of four hijacked planes flew into the World Trade Center's north tower on September 11, 2001, Michael Hingson, a district sales manager for a data protection and network security systems company, was sitting down for a meeting. His guide dog, Roselle, was at his feet. Paired for twenty-one months, man and dog spent that time forging a bond of trust, much like police partners who trust their lives to each other.

Michael couldn't see a thing, but he could hear the sounds of shattering glass, falling debris, and terrified people flooding around him and Roselle. However, Roselle sat calmly beside him. In that moment, Michael chose to trust Roselle's judgment and not to panic. They were a team.

"Thunder Dog" is a story that will forever change your spirit and your perspective. It illuminates Hingson's lifelong determination to achieve parity in a sighted world and how the rare trust between a man and his guide dog can inspire an unshakable faith in each one of us.

The Unbreakable Boy is the raucously tender story of the life of a teenage boy with a rare brittle-bone disease who joyfully embraces life's tragedies and triumphs. Now in trade paper.Meet Austin, an eighteen-year-old whose body is much more fragile than his spirit.Despite the painful effects of osteogenesis imperfecta--a rare disease that makes bones brittle and prone to break--and the challenges of living with autism, Austin is an overcomer who inspires everyone he meets.The Unbreakable Boy is the raucously tender story of Austin's joyful embrace of life's tragedies and triumphs.In honest, utterly real storytelling, Scott pulls back the curtain of his life to reveal personal and family struggles, from marital meltdowns to destructive bouts with addiction.The only thing that keeps Scott buckled into this ride is his growing faith in God and the conviction that he was chosen as Austin's dad.With every twist, this father-son saga breathes hope in to all of us who ever feel overwhelmed, wondering if the end of the rope we're clinging to is fraying in our hands.Austin's life is proof positive that the rope may break, but we don't have to.