In 1994, seven-year-old Nicholas Green was shot and killed by highway robbers while on vacation in Italy; his parents, stricken, nonetheless found it in themselves to offer his organs to seven needy Italians. Their generosity not only sent a shock wave through Italy, where organ donations doubled in one year, but it generated immediate international recognition, lots of media (including an appearance on Oprah) and a made-for-TV movie that aired on CBS last year. Calling it the most famous organ donation story in history, People magazine featured the selfless act in its 25th-anniversary issue, out this month, as well as its year-end wrap-up of the best stories of 1998.
Now, Nicholas's father, Reg Green, has written the story from the inside. Called The Nicholas Effect -- referring to the impact that Nicholas's death has had on saving other lives through organ donation -- Green's account is being published this April by O'Reilly &Associates of Sebastopol, Calif., a neighbor of the Greens better known for its computer titles than its trade books.
The match, however, seems appropriate. Green, who, since his son's death, has been a tireless crusader for organ donation, wanted a publisher who could help him build national recognition for the organ donation community. O'Reilly, which has been anxious to broaden its image beyond being "just a computer company," is hoping that The Nicholas Effect "will put us on the trade map like no other book we've done," according to Leili Eghbal, O'Reilly's consumer publishing and marketing director. "We assured him it would be an `A-list' book for us, and what's more, it fits O'Reilly's deep commitment to doing worthy books that can make a difference."
To that end, O'Reilly, which is printing an initial run of 50,000, has pledged to contribute half the book's proceeds to foundations dedicated to organ donations, such as the National Kidney Foundation. It has also hired an independent publicist to organize promotion, which will include launching The Nicholas Effect at BEA, a satellite tour in May, a print advertising campaign and a six- to 10-city national tour. At the end of April, Green will be the keynote speaker at a special program of the Family Pledge Project in Washington, D.C., attended by several congressmen as well as Vice President Gore and his wife, Tipper Gore.
Green, who had written the manuscript by October and sold it to O'Reilly in December, was eager to have the book appear in time for the Family Pledge Project event. Green's story, now four years old, still garners media attention. "It's because of its universality," Green said. "I've always thought of this story on two levels: one, that it has the capacity to save lives, and two, that it unites people." Although Green is on a continuous speaking circuit and is a popular interview candidate, he feels there is much to the story of his son, and the public's response to the organ donations, that has never been told. "In a book, you can go in depth," he noted, "which you can't do on TV."
