A Short History of Falling

Name: A Short History of Falling
Brand: Harper UK
Availability: InStock
Author: Joe Hammond
ISBN: 9780008339937

Author: Joe Hammond

Narrator: Russell Tovey

Unabridged: 5 hr 26 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Fourth Estate

Published: 09/05/2019

Categories: Nonfiction, Biography & Autobiography, Memoirs, Social Science, Death & Dying, Family & Relationships

Synopsis

A Short History of Falling The Diving Bell and the Butterfly When Breath Becomes Air We keep an old shoebox, Gill and I, nestled in a drawer in our room. It’s filled with thirty-three birthday cards for our two young sons: one for every year I’ll miss until they’re twenty-one. I wrote them because, since the end of 2017, I’ve been living with – and dying from – motor neurone disease. This book is about the process of saying goodbye. To my body, as I journey from unexpected clumsiness to a wheelchair that resembles a spacecraft, with rods and pads and dials and bleeps. To this world, as I play less of a part in it and find myself floating off into unlighted territory. To Gill, my wife. To Tom and Jimmy. A Short History of Falling

Reviews

Goodreads review by Natali

This book is about a man - husband and and father of two young boys - who learns that he’s got a neuromuscular disease. He knows that he’s got about two years before the disease will kill him and he will become a quadriplegic ever so slowly. Spoiler: he did in fact die in 2019. He did not write this......more

Goodreads review by Helen

A book which makes you think, and also strikes many chords if you have also ever been ill (either terminally or even simply been diagnosed with something chronic). The effect on what happens to the people around the patient is particularly resonant - some friends and family go into a sort of denial,......more

Goodreads review by J.E.

Due to the content of the book it does feel a little harsh to criticise it, but I really didn’t enjoy reading it. The writer didn’t make his story sound particularly interesting and the writing style was flat and unengaging. There was a lot of unnecessary waffle to pad the book out. It wasn’t as inf......more

Quotes

‘it is Hammond’s curiosity about death and his desire to report from the front line that makes this such a strangely invigorating read…’ Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of , ‘His voice is captivating, his observations are searing, and his book is a blessing. ’ Kathryn Mannix, author of ‘, and read it in a day. It's surprising and uncommon and I don't think I'll ever forget it’ Sunjeev Sahota, author of ' is ' Christie Watson, bestselling author of ‘. It is very hard to imagine how anyone could write so lyrically,dispassionately and persuasively of their imminent demise and its effect on those around them’ James Le Fanu, author of 'An inspirational, ultimately heartbreaking account of experiencing life as the nervous system fails, shared with ' Professor Stephen Westaby, author of ‘It’s something of a cliché to call memoirs about a terminal illness life-affirming. ’ Caroline Sanderson, Book of the Month