When Mallory Smith started journaling at age 15 about what it was like growing up with the debilitating lung disease Cystic Fibrosis, she probably didn't imagine her writings would one day inspire others. Or maybe she did. Mallory's mother Diane (who wasn't allowed to read her diaries until after Mallory died in 2017 at age 25) has turned her daughter's thoughts, feelings, and philosophy about life -- and death -- into a book that the LA Times described as "a memoir unlike any you've read."

Mallory (above, middle) fought to live as normal a life as possible. In high school she played three varsity sports and was prom Queen

Salt in My Soul: An Unfinished Life tells the story of how Mallory fought to live a relatively "normal" life -- athlete, prom queen, successful college student -- while battling a disease that she knew would cut her life short. At the time, the life expectancy for people diagnosed with CF was 25-30 years.

"I have a strong urge to write something that will change people." Mallory Smith, author, Salt in My Soul: An Unfinished Life

In the book, Mallory shares the ups, downs and her most terrifying moments of battling her disease. Diane Smith is hoping it inspires other people facing impossible situations. As her daughter wrote in the journal: "I want it to be like handing people a pair of glasses, giving them a way of seeing something they didn't even realize they weren't seeing."

Mallory graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford with a degree in human biology

Diane is taking their message on the road. She already has more than 60 talks planned around the country to promote the book, at hospitals and medical schools, universities and high schools, from California, Texas, and Indiana, to Boston, New York, even Hawaii.

The book tour stops in Pittsburgh in mid-April, including Bakery Orange, an apartment community in Shadyside where Mallory lived while she awaited a double lung transplant at UPMC in September 2017. Duquesne University is holding a spaghetti dinner to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Western Pennsylvania in conjunction with her presentation.

April 14

Bakery Living Pittsburgh (Bakery Orange Lobby)

4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

6480 Living Place, Pittsburgh, PA 15206

(click here to register)

April 15

Duquesne University

4:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Africa Room, Duquesne Union

1000 Locust St, Pittsburgh, PA 15219

(click here to register)

April 16

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Scaife Hall, Lecture Room 5

3550 Terrace St, Pittsburgh, PA 15261

Click here to see the full list of stops on the book tour. Click here to find out how to buy the book. And if you'd like to support ongoing research funded by Mallory's Legacy Fund, click here .

(Images: https://www.saltinmysoulbook.com/malloryphotos)