A Passion for Living

Alex Stobbs is determined to make every day count. Despite suffering from cystic fibrosis and enduring a gruelling regime of drugs and treatment, he has already achieved more in his nineteen years than many do in a lifetime. A musical prodigy, he was the subject of the Bafta-nominated documentary, A Boy Called Alex, and millions watched as he achieved his dream – to conduct the Bach Magnificat.Now at university, Alex is preparing for his next challenge: to conduct the three-hour-long St Matthew Passion. Struggling to balance university life with the demands of constant rehearsals, and hospitalised in the last few weeks before the performance, Alex remains determined to pull off the greatest performance of his life. Introduced by his mother, Suzanne, this is a memoir of remarkable humour and energy, which shows that it is not Alex’s illness that makes him extraordinary, but his determination to achieve his dreams in spite of it.