WHAT THE DARKNESS GAVE ME A

WHAT THE DARKNESS GAVE ME

A Memoir of Survival, Leadership, Loss, and Self-Discovery

Joe Prillmayer learned to survive before he ever learned how to live.

Born with a congenital heart defect, he underwent major surgery as an infant and again as a child. But surviving his body was only the beginning. At home, he faced a different kind of danger—one that taught him to read moods, anticipate violence, disappear inward, and endure what no child should have to understand.

By eight years old, survival had become instinct.