Jon Dorenbos, Life is Magic: My Inspiring Journey from Tragedy to Self-Discovery

In Conversation with Tom Sullivan, TV Host and Emcee

Community Partners: ORT America Atlanta Region; The Davis Academy. 

You might recognize him as an NFL All-Pro or as an elite magician who made the finals of Amer­ica’s 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 12 years old and living a seemingly idyllic childhood in suburban Seattle, he woke up for baseball camp. Later that day, Jon heard the news: his father had murdered his mother in the family’s three-car garage. In an instant, his life had shattered. He was an orphan. Thrust into foster care, Jon struggled. Left to himself, he discovered an unlikely escape performing magic tricks. Then came football, which provided a release for all of Jon’s pent-up anger. Together, magic and football saved him, leading to 14 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 or bounce back. In Life Is Magic, Dorenbos draws a road map for how to choose happi­ness, even in life’s darkest moments. 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.

 “Jon Dorenbos is a magical person. Life Is Magic shows how we can all choose happiness in the face of overwhelming odds…”
—Ellen DeGeneres

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