After nearly losing everything to cancer, entrepreneur, business owner, and author, Jacky Costello found the meaning of life – at least the meaning of hers.

Jacky Costello’s new book, How Far I Have Risen: Coming Clean About Cancer, God and My American Dream, details her early life in East Germany, starting a family, her battle with cancer, the crushing pain of a loss she never thought she’d have to face, finding her best friend, finding her faith, finding herself, and building her business in the face of it all. It’s a true page turner that will lead you through the gamut of emotions as we follow in her steps through Germany and her eventual move to the United States, taking you from tears to laughter and a renewed sense of empowerment and love.

Jacky is the owner of Custom Cleanups, LLC, a 5-star rated house cleaning company serving the Fishhawk, Lithia, Brandon, and greater Tampa Bay, FL area. Through Custom Cleanups’ partnership with Cleaning for a Reason, Jacky and her team provide services free of charge to those battling cancer because, as she mentions in her book, sometimes it’s the little semblances of normal that help you keep it all together when you’re fighting for your life. She is honored to be able to give back to her community in this and many other ways.

An excerpt from the book:

I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. Psalm 40:1-2

“This is exactly what God has done for me. He has pulled me from the slimy pit of mire and, time and again, given me a firm place to stand. Make no mistake, He can do the same for you. The change that I made in my life in accepting God’s word in the last few years has been nothing but a blessing for me and my family. By the grace of God, I’ve remained healthy and cancer-free for nearly six years; my family is also happy and healthy; and we live in a beautiful home in a beautiful neighborhood with great neighbors and friends surrounding us. We are blessed.”