Rating: 
Summary: Highly recommended
Review: If ever a book forced a reader to consider the vagaries of life, and what life is all about, this is it. Moreover, I thought that Mr. Galli had an excellent writing style, straightforward, muscular and unflinching, just right for this incredibly sad story. I also thought that the notes of support from the Galli's friends and acquaintances were a real addition to the book. They show us not only the meaning of what it is to have close friends, but perhaps as importantly, how people instinctly can pull together to support and rally around those who they may not even count as close friends, but who are mere acquaintances. I did have a few very minor quibbles. One is that I was surprised that there was hardly any discussion whatsoever about how the accident actually happended. All we are basically told is that Jeffrey dove into a pool and hit his head. Well if I dive into the deep end of a 10-foot pool, I'm not going to hit my head, so that is obviously not what happened here. But what did happen? Did he "dive" into the shallow end. That doesn't seem so likely. Did he not know how deep it was? Did he not stick his arms out to break the fall? I recognize that the "how" is not the point of the book, but I would have expected to see at least a paragraph or two as to exactly what happened (or even to tell the reader that they don't actually know what happened). Second, while I thoroughly admired the way in which Mr. Galli dealt with this tragedy, I found his own self-regard somewhat off-putting. I don't mean this in the sense of how thoughts or emotions or acts in terms of Jeff's situation per se. Rather, it seemed as if, when dealing with aspects of his life not directly involving Jeff (i.e the author's pre-accident life), I felt that he was not lacking in self-praise as to his panoply of talents. I could be wrong about that of course, but that was the sense I had. Despite that, I still feel that the book is a real achievement and Jeff is lucky to have such a father.
Rating:
Summary: Remarkably moving; unforgettable
Review: On July 4, 1998, 17-year-old Jeffrey Galli dove into a swimming pool. When he didn't emerge, his friends ran for help, and Jeffrey's mother and father pulled him from the pool and saved his life; subsequently they learn that he has been paralyzed from the neck down and will spend his life dependent on a ventilator for his breathing. In this memoir of the first ten days of Jeffrey's accident and hospitalization, his father recreates the immense sadness, the horror, and the gut-wrenching decisions that his family faced. Chief among these was his own conviction that the most humane choice they could make was to turn off the ventilator and let Jeffery die in order to spare him a life robbed of any independent physical activity and without the potential to pursue their vision of a happy life. When Jeffrey awakes and is able to communicate--and has no brain damage--they rethink their decision and recognize there is more to being alive than having a body. The family's struggle to decide on the best course of action for their son is the main focus of this book, and is presented so well that the reader feels the anguish of this horrible choice: to determine whether to keep your child alive, knowing that he will live completely wheelchair bound and dependent on others for the most basic care, or elect to let him die and live with that decision for life (and face the possibility that in the future a cure will be discovered). Perhaps the most moving sections were when Jeffrey awoke each day and had to face his paralysis anew--his father there to explain to him time and again the circumstances and consequences of the accident. An incredibly moving read about parenthood and life--I dare you to read it without crying.
Rating:
Summary: I tried to put this book down. I couldn't.
Review: Reading Rescuing Jeffrey is almost like seeing a bad accident on the side of the interstate. You don't want to look, but you do. In this case, please do. While I often had to read through copious tears, it is a fascinating story written by someone who holds your attention despite your already knowing the ending. And, by reading, you find the truth: that one's mind and one's heart are the essence of the person . . . not what they can do. Jeffrey is the hero of this story. He decides, while everyone else agonizes, that he will live. This story will break your heart and then, slowly, as you think about it, heal it again.
Rating: 
Summary: Something to think about
Review: This book is worth reading. It is a sad story, and unfortunately, a miracle does not occur at the ending, but is so good nonetheless. At times I could not even read more than a page because the images of Jeffrey in his hospital bed were so vivid that I began to cry. I agree with the other reviewer who said the true hero is Jeffrey. I think you should read this book because Jeffrey Galli's story will change your life. I can honestly say that it has changed mine.
Rating: 
Summary: Rescuing Richard
Review: This book provides a window into the soul of a man I don't want to know. As he ponders how to deal with his son Jeffrey's tragic paralysis from a severed spinal cord, Galli constructs a skilled lawyer's argument for killing Jeffrey (his words) by removing the ventilator and allowing Jeffrey to strangle to death. This despite the fact that his son is conscious, aware, and with intact brain function. Although Jeffrey is only months away from his 18th birthday, Galli refuses to involve him in this decision because "the law" gives him, as the father, the right to withhold medical treatment. He proposes to drug Jeffrey, then turn off the ventilator without telling him in advance or giving him a chance to say good-bye, like a thief stealing away his son's life in the night. He discusses his motivations largely in terms of the practical difficulties of caring for Jeffrey after he is discharged from the hospital. While he argues that Jeffrey wouldn't want to live on as a quadraplegic, he never asks Jeffrey if he wants to live. Galli goes on at length describing his brilliant "closing arguments" to doctors, clergy and the hospital ethics committee which, he proudly claims, at least stifled their opposition to his chosen course. Much of this comes across as attention-seeking theatrics. He feels personally aggrieved by the compassion and support of friends and strangers, which he describes as a nuisance and burden. When prayer or God is mentioned, he responds, "We don't speak that name in this room." As a parent who has walked in Galli's shoes, with a paralyzed teenage child of my own, I found his perspective entirely self-centered and incomprehensible. Fortunately, Jeffrey had the resources to save his own life. Richard is the one who still needs saving.
Rating:
Summary: A book you just can't put down!
Review: This is a compassionate and compelling story, a must for everyone to read. I admire Mr. Galli and would never want to be in his shoes. I wept while I read, identifying very much as I have sons and he lets you know just how in a minute your world can change drastically. A must read for everyone. This is a poignant story, one everyone should read. When so many people gripe and complain about their so-called ailments, this book makes it very clear that but for the grace of God, there go I. Definitely worth purchasing! I recommend it to everyone.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: This is a finely written memoir of a dreadful event -- a swimming accident that left the author's teenaged son paralyzed. The story takes us over the first days after the accident -- a time when the parents are trying to balance their son's options -- and the possibility of terminating life support. This is a very moving book, and I could not help but be profoundly impressed by the son, Jeffrey, along with his family and the network of supportive friends. I recommend this book without reservation. On another, perhaps less important note, I should mention that the author is also a very good writer. It is frequent in memoir books that I overlook style because of the content. But in this case, the content was very moving, as I said; the writing was very, very good. One last comment -- I cannot help but wonder if the negative reviewers finished the book. They might be surprised.
Rating:
Summary: All doctors and most parents should read this
Review: To do justice to this book, read it with an open, searching heart. Then ask yourself, as this author did, what would YOU feel and what would YOU do if your child, an adolescent, was left paralyzed from the neck down? In those first days when your child couldn't even speak what would you think about? That's the painful situation author Richard Galli found himself facing after his son Jeffrey was paralyzed after a freak accident in a swimming pool, an accident which left him unable to move from the neck down.
This account is a heartfelt, painfully honest description of the first ten days after the accident (when Jeffrey is basically unconscious) and what many readers have found hard to believe is how Jeffrey's father could contemplate ending his son's life. But I understood how his understanding of the life his son had lived before the accident and the horror of the life his son would lead afterwards, in all their limitations, could lead him to contemplate his son's death.
In the end, it is Jeffrey himself who is the final determinant of his life or death. I won't give away the ending but simply recommend you read this one.
Rating:
Summary: Brutally honest and brave
Review: When a tragedy such as the one Richard Galli experienced in his family occurs, the family is expected to nod in agreement at platitudes from well-meaning aquaintences such as , "At least he's still alive." But sometimes we're not truly glad our loved one is alive. Sometimes our love is so deep and the prognosis is so bad that we want to say, "NO!" But it is rare to have the courage to admit it if our society would be more cmfortable otherwise. Richard Galli obviously shared his feelings with rare honesty. He didn't tell a sappy story that would make us feel better. He told the truth. It is apparent that he didn't write for the popular commercial success, but for more personal and intimate reasons. Those who dare to read it with an open heart can benefit from his bravery in sharing his thoughts and feelings with no regard for what anyone not in his situation might think.
Rating:
Summary: Brutally honest and brave
Review: When a tragedy such as the one Richard Galli experienced in his family occurs, the family is expected to nod in agreement at platitudes from well-meaning aquaintences such as , "At least he's still alive." But sometimes we're not truly glad our loved one is alive. Sometimes our love is so deep and the prognosis is so bad that we want to say, "NO!" But it is rare to have the courage to admit it if our society would be more cmfortable otherwise. Richard Galli obviously shared his feelings with rare honesty. He didn't tell a sappy story that would make us feel better. He told the truth. It is apparent that he didn't write for the popular commercial success, but for more personal and intimate reasons. Those who dare to read it with an open heart can benefit from his bravery in sharing his thoughts and feelings with no regard for what anyone not in his situation might think.
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