Brad Newbury and Kiera Newbury are the authors of the new book The Saved Effect: True Stories of Lives Reclaimed by People Who Were Afraid to Act. Brad Newbury is the president and CEO of the National Medical Education & Training Center. Kiera Newbury is an emergency medical professional.
Q: What inspired you to write The Saved Effect?
A: The Saved Effect began with a simple realization: when someone saves a life, the story does not end when the heartbeat returns.
As a paramedic and firefighter, Brad has spent more than four decades responding to people on the worst days of their lives. Kiera grew up inside that world, watching how those moments shaped not only the people who were saved, but also the rescuers, families, clinicians, and communities connected to them.
The most personal inspiration came from Brad’s father, Joe, who survived a cardiac arrest because someone nearby was willing to begin CPR. His survival gave our family more moments together, including moments that would not have otherwise happened.
That experience helped us understand that one person’s willingness to act can create a ripple effect that reaches far beyond the initial rescue.
We wrote this book to honor those who stepped forward, to show what happened afterward, and to remind readers that ordinary people can be prepared for extraordinary moments.
Q: How did you choose the stories to include in the book?
A: We chose stories that demonstrated the many different ways one act of courage can continue to affect lives.
Some involve trained first responders or healthcare professionals. Others involve bystanders, family members, coworkers, or complete strangers who simply recognized that someone needed help and decided to act.
We were not only looking for dramatic rescues. We wanted stories that revealed what followed: the relationships that were strengthened, the families that remained connected, the purposes that were discovered, and the rescuers who were changed by what they experienced.
Each story is different, but they all share the same invisible thread. Someone was in crisis. Someone else was willing to step forward. From that moment, lives changed on both sides of the rescue.
Q: You write, “The Saved Effect shows that saving a life isn’t just about restoring a heartbeat, it’s about preserving the years, memories, and generations that follow.” Can you say more about that?
A: A successful resuscitation is often described clinically. We talk about return of spontaneous circulation, survival to discharge, or neurological outcomes. Those measurements matter, but they do not tell the whole story.
Behind every heartbeat is a person who is someone’s parent, child, spouse, friend, teacher, coworker, or neighbor. When that person survives, birthdays can still be celebrated, conversations can still happen, relationships can continue, and new memories can be created.
However, we have also learned that life is not measured only in years. It is measured in moments. Sometimes a person is given decades. Sometimes the time is much shorter. What matters is what becomes possible because someone acted.
A rescue can preserve a wedding, a graduation, a final conversation, a chance to say “I love you,” or simply another ordinary day together. Those moments continue to influence families and future generations. That is the saved effect.
Q: What impact did it have on you to write this book, and what do you hope readers take away from it?
A: Writing this book changed both of us.
For Brad, it required revisiting four decades of service and looking beyond the medical outcomes to consider the emotional impact of the work.
First responders are often trained to move quickly from one call to the next. Writing these stories created an opportunity to pause and understand how deeply these moments can shape the rescuer as well as the person being rescued.
For Kiera, the process brought a new understanding of the world she grew up around and helped her see how her family’s experiences had shaped her own sense of purpose.
We hope readers finish the book inspired, but we also want them to take action. We want people to learn CPR, become comfortable using an AED, and believe they are capable of helping when a crisis occurs.
You do not need to be a physician, nurse, firefighter, or paramedic to save a life. Often, the most important person is simply the one who is already there and is willing to begin.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: Our immediate focus is expanding the mission behind The Saved Effect.
We are working with educators, first responders, healthcare professionals, CPR organizations, businesses, and community leaders to encourage more people to become trained and prepared to act. We are also developing educational programs, speaking opportunities, and media projects that will continue sharing the stories of survivors and rescuers.
Brad continues to serve as a Fire Captain and paramedic while leading the National Medical Education & Training Center, which educates EMTs and paramedics across the country. Kiera is continuing her work in emergency medicine and helping build the next chapter of The Saved Effect.
We believe the book is not the conclusion of this work. It is the beginning of a much larger movement centered on readiness, courage, and human connection.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: At its heart, The Saved Effect is not only a book about cardiac arrest or emergency medicine. It is a book about what human beings are capable of doing for one another.
Most people will never expect to be present when someone’s life depends on immediate action. But every day, ordinary people suddenly find themselves in that exact position.
Our message is simple: Be Inspired, Get Trained in CPR, and Be Willing to act.
You may never need to use those skills. But if the moment comes, your actions could preserve a family, a future, and countless moments you may never personally see.
That is the power of The Saved Effect.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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