A new series of books aims to educate and inspire young children through the stories of athletes handling important topics, including heart health.
"This is just a calling that is very personal to me," said former Texas A&M star and NFL player Michael Montgomery.
Montgomery is taking his story from the pages of a football playbook to the pages of a children's book.
"I was born with an extra vessel that pumped irregularly faster during competitive sports," he said. "I just want to have a story to raise awareness."
In the book, titled, Michael Montgomery: Heart of a Lion, he shares about his life with congenital heart disease - Wolf-Parkinson-White syndrome specifically.
While at practice at A&M, Montgomery collapsed and went into cardiac arrest. He overcame that and went on to play six seasons in the NFL. He told KHOU 11 that he hopes his story of overcoming adversity and listening to one's body helps inspire children and inform parents.
"Investing in your body and your mind, you know, those keys, if those are not where it needs to be, I don't care if you play sports or your career, you're not going to go far if those things are not in line as well," Montgomery said.
The book is part of a series founded by Josh Merwin, called Josh's Inspirational Journeys.
"Sports translates into life," Montgomery said. "I mean, there are so many lessons you learn on the field that you take down in life."
Each book asks child readers to interact with questions and prompts in the pages.
"It's really a spark that gets them thinking, not just inspired by Michael's story and other athlete's stories, but really what their story is going to be in the future," Merwin said.
Over Super Bowl weekend, Montgomery got to interact with young readers at an event he said inspired him to continue inspiring others.
"It was a very amazing experience to give back, give kids inspiration, motivation and push their dreams," he said. "Just tell them to go out there and get it, regardless. Just got to go sacrifice and go for it."