Crowds gathered at Exclusive Books at Hyde Park Corner for the much-anticipated launch of Get Me To 21: The Jenna Lowe Story by Gabi Lowe on 14 August.
The book is a memoir of Jenna Lowe from the perspective of her mother. Jenna, who died on June 2015 of pulmonary arterial hypertension, was a Lead SA activist and the driving force behind the internationally-acclaimed Get Me to 21 Campaign which increased organ donor registrations by tens of thousands.
Good Things Guy Brent Lindeque described the book as a tragic, harrowing and inspirational story before interviewing Gabi about her journey to write the memoir, which she began three years after Jenna’s death.
Gabi said, “Writing was painful as I relived experiences and learned to face the truth, the memories, loss, pain and disappointment. It also helped me to feel lighter. I felt Jen was there with me the whole way.”
Gabi began writing the book while on a retreat to Greece. “I was on my own for 10 days and decided to start writing. Once I started, I could barely stop. I wrote for 16 hours a day.”
Jenna’s activism began at age 19 when she was awaiting a lung-transplant and posted a video online, inviting the nation to her 21st birthday party.
“The video went viral. All you had to do [to be invited] was sign up to become an organ donor. This changed the organ donor rate by 287 per cent.”
“If you ever doubt the difference you can make, this book will inspire you. It is what you choose to do with your suffering and adversity that counts,” said Gabi.
The book also poses the question: Why should those who don’t have a common disease suffer so much? “I don’t blame the doctors and nurses for Jenna’s death. The blame lies with the system.”
The Jenna Lowe trust was re-launched following her death to honour Jenna’s legacy by supporting pulmonary hypertension, organ transplantation and rare diseases in South Africa.
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