Addison Trail alumnus shares his story of overcoming adversity and writing a book of inspirational poetry

Addison Trail alumnus Joseph Kralicek, class of 1975, will never forget the day he received the worst news of his life – the day he was diagnosed with a fatal liver disease.

“They gave my condition a bunch of fancy names,” Kralicek said. “The names simply meant they had no clue what I really had. They just knew my condition was bad, and there was not much they could do.”

The only option for Kralicek was to undergo a liver transplant. He was placed on an organ donor list. In 1992, Kralicek got the call that he was next to receive a liver.

As Kralicek went through that difficult time in his life, he reflected by writing inspirational poetry about his experiences.

“One of the first poems I wrote, I delivered five copies to the transplant center as a token of appreciation for all the staff had done for me,” Kralicek said. “I returned to the center just a few hours later and was told others really loved my poem and wanted their own copy.”

Since then, Kralicek has given away thousands of copies of that poem. To see the poem, go to https://dupage88.net/site/public/files/?item=1365. To this day, Kralicek always carries a pen and paper with him, knowing inspiration comes to him at the most inconvenient times.

Kralicek continues to write poetry and used 55 of his poems to compile his book, “The Courage of One,” which was published in 2005. He also is proud to share Secretary of State Jesse White wrote the forward of his book.

“This book of poems really surprised me,” Kralicek said. “I wasn’t a very good student at Addison Trail. In fact, I couldn’t wait to get out of school. Now here I am, almost 40 years later, a published author. I have no doubt in my mind Addison Trail really did have an impact in shaping me for the future.”

For more information about Kralicek’s book, or to buy a copy, go to http://tinyurl.com/k2mgnbe.