About The Book

Most teenagers hang out at the mall, binge-watch streaming television shows, stay glued to their phones, and find ways to entertain themselves. For Sally and Jonah Ismael, they went a different route: pouring themselves into being honor students, writing a book, forming a non-profit, competing successfully at international championship sporting competitions. They discovered their inner strength, resiliency, and a positive attitude and tell their motivational and touching story in their new book, The Night Blooming. “No matter how many times you have felt defeated by obstacles, challenges, rejection, or stuck in a hopeless situation, remind yourself that you are stronger than any barriers you face because you have strength and power within you,” encourages Sally Ismael, co-author. Their new book is an inspiring look at how two twin teenage siblings courageously battled the odds to rise up and become young Taekwondo champions. Along the way to victory, they discovered a resilient strength within themselves that they now want to give back to others with their non-profit, The Power Within. Their path to success is a little unusual. After being mentally, emotionally, and verbally abused by their coach, they were unfairly ostracized by the Taekwondo community to the point they couldn’t train at another dojo nor get anyone to coach them. They were afraid to compete in the United States and found their greatest success overseas. Their book is a profile in courage, revealing how a brother and sister leaned on one another to become not only champion athletes, but prized students and citizens. Sally and Jonah speak about how they: • Trained – physically and mentally – from a young age --to become true champions • Aspire to compete in the Olympics after becoming national Taekwondo champs • Fought to overcome rejection, isolation, pain, doubts, fears, and chronic PTSD • Discovered a path of resiliency, positivity, and success despite the obstacles • Overcame racism and prejudice as Arab-Americans in Texas • Endured abuse from their coach and from within a youth sports power structure • Formed a non-profit that helps impoverished children gain an education and support “In The Night Blooming, we provide motivation, techniques, outlets, encouragement, and empowerment to those who disbelieve in their abilities, says co-author Jonah Ismael. “We aim to turn their doubts into confidence, weakness into strength, and despair into power. We all have powers within us to rise and conquer any hardship that comes our way, and our mission is to further that message as far as we can through our book. Our book aims to inspire, empower, and advocate for the importance of believing in the capabilities we all have within ourselves, especially among the generation of our youth.” Jonah and Sally have been model citizens, students, and athletes. They earned The Award of Excellence by Noble Laureate in Science and Medicine, Dr. Mario Capecchi. Sally and Jonah are both Congressional Award Medalists, one of the highest honors bestowed upon young people from the United States Congress, and both earned a STEM Star as well. They are the founders of the non-profit organization, “The Power Within,” and former members of the AAU/USA National Team. Both have been training without a coach in their small garage since 2016; and both hold black belts. Sally and Jonah are active advocates on social media platforms as they spread awareness about mental health, abuse and how to cope with bullying. The two also write daily motivational blogs to encourage young people to find the strength within themselves. The Night Blooming is a motivational story written to inspire young people to rise against bullying, racism, or any kind of challenge. It offers many take-aways and advice on the ingredients they used to make changes and to act from a place of positivity, despite the negativity thrust upon them. They share guidance on: *Problem-Solving *Exuding Confidence *Leadership Skills *Developing Vision *Strong Mindset *Open-Mindedness *Positive Attitude *Good Core Values *Resilience Over Adversity *Taking Responsibility *Finding Purpose. Featured by The World Taekwondo for Academic and Leadership Achievements and by “Inside The Games,” an Olympic Worldwide Sport Magazine for Leadership and Academic Success, Jonah and Sally now help others blaze their own trail.