David George is anything but typical.
The multiple business owner, professional tree climber, lumberjack, former MMA fighter and promoter, and married father of two young girls was on his way to Los Angeles for semi-final auditions for the cast of the CBS-TV show “Survivor”. Then he found out what survival really means.
At only 28 years of age, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in December 2011 and underwent what he and his doctors considered successful surgery followed by 12 weeks of aggressive chemotherapy. But three months later and with the cancer returned and metastasized in his spine, instead of heading off to an exotic locale he was back at Massachusetts General Hospital for a second intensive surgery.
“To stay positive during my battle with cancer, I decided to create an inspirational project to help myself and others facing adversity,” said George, 32, who climbed the 6,288 foot elevation Mt. Washington only two weeks after the operation and is now cancer free and living in Hampstead, NH.
Armed with a microphone, GoPro video camera and a Nikon still camera, the first-time author documented his true story over 258 days of taping in 2012 and through more than 6,500 photographs.
Professional video producer and editor Jeff McGurren of Londonderry, NH and professional designer and music producer Derek Wakeen, his best childhood friends from Methuen, MA, collaborated on the journey for three years. The result is a heartfelt yet powerful, multi-platform project with top flight production values, and it is comprised of a Vbook, an ebook compatible with Amazon and Kindle and other ibooks, musical soundtrack, and a paperback book entitled “The Year it All Made Sense.”
With this body of work, George aims to help others find their light in the darkest of times.
“The only way to get through it is to embrace it,” said George, whose wife, Danielle, is an R.N. in the pediatric intensive care unit at MGH. “You have to be unstoppable. Sometimes you have to sacrifice everything to follow your dreams, but anything is possible if you don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.”
To help bring the project to life and so that it may reach as many people as possible, it is being funded through a Kickstarter campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/theyearitallmadesens/the-year-it-all-made-sense. George hopes to be able to give the books to anyone who can find inspiration from them, and there are different levels of support available. All contributions are appreciated in this season of thanksgiving, and donors will receive the materials.
Additionally, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the American Cancer Society, the LiveStrong Foundation, and the Movember Foundation, which is a global charity raising awareness and funds for over 1,000 programs focusing on testicular cancer, prostate cancer, and poor mental health and physical activity
“The Movember Foundation is excited to have David growing a Movember moustache this year in support of men’s health, and we are honored that David has agreed to share his inspiring story with the Movember community,” said a spokesperson for the organization, which creates positive change for men’s health and profiled George in its latest newsletter (https://us.movember.com/news/10409/mo-bro-spotlight-david-george).
Said George, “By sharing experience, connections across humanity are made. My goal was to create an art project out of real experience and tell the world why 2012 was the year it all made sense.”
And the take-away?
“Never lose faith. Never lose hope. Never lose love,” he said.
For more information about "The Year it All Made Sense" visit the website: www.theyearitallmadesense.com, and follow on Facebook: www.facebook.com/theyearitallmadesense and Twitter: #theyearitallmadesense. To contribute click on: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/theyearitallmadesens/the-year-it-all-made-sense