“Jon Dorenbos is a magical person. Life Is Magic shows how we can all choose happiness in the face of overwhelming odds.” Ellen DeGeneres. An extraordinary and empowering story of resilience, forgiveness, and living a life of purpose in the face of unfathomable obstacles. You might recognize him as an NFL All-Pro or as an elite magician who made the finals of Americas Got Talent and regularly appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. But Jon Dorenbos says that what he does is not who he is. Who he is is someone forced, at the most tender of ages, to coach himself into turning tragedy to triumph. One morning in August 1992, when Jon was twelve years old and living a seemingly idyllic childhood in suburban Seattle, he woke up for baseball camp. His dad waved good-bye. Later that day, Jon heard the news: his father had murdered his mother in the familys three-car garage. In an instant, his life had shattered. Hed been essentially orphaned. Thrust into foster care while his father stood trial for murder, Jon struggled. Left to himself, he discovered an unlikely escape performing magic tricks. If you found a way to alter your reality after your dadyour herokilled your mom, wouldnt you cling to it too? Then came football, which provided a release for all of Jons pent-up anger. Together, magic and football saved him, leading to fourteen NFL seasons on the gridiron and raucous sleight-of-hand performances to packed houses across the globe. In 2017, after being traded to the New Orleans Saints, Jon was diagnosed with a life-threatening heart condition. He had a choice: break down, oras hed long by now taught himselfbounce back. “Talk to yourself, dont listen to yourself,” Dorenbos advises for those moments when the inner voice of self-doubt screams. In Life Is Magic, Dorenbos draws a road map for how to shut that voice up by choosing happiness. At his darkest times, he writes, hes learned lessons of love, forgiveness, and perseverance. His story is poignant and powerful, told by a charismatic and optimistic man who has overcome life-or-death challenges with grace, persistence, a childlike sense of wonder...and jaw-dropping card tricks.