Both a heart-rending portrait of terminal illness and a profound meditation on mortality, Hammond’s memoir is resolutely unsentimental and written with an admirable clear-headedness. Devised with a focus on those that are left behind, A Short History of Falling stands alongside When Breath Becomes Air as a treatise on the multifaceted nature of death.
A Short History of Falling - like The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, and When Breath Becomes Air - is a searingly beautiful, profound and unforgettable memoir that finds light and even humour in the darkest of places.
As I get weaker, less a part of this world, or less a part of what I love, less a part of my family's life, I can perceive its edges with fantastic clarity. I can lie against it, lolling my arm over the edge, running my fingers around the rim. And this is where I am.
In 2018, Joe Hammond, wrote a piece for the Guardian about the 33 birthday cards he was writing for his two sons. It was shared by thousands. In A Short History of Falling he tells the story behind that piece, about the experience of living with - and dying of - motor neurone disease (ALS).
A Short History of Falling is not a lament. It is a deeply imaginative meditation on what it feels like to confront the fact that your family will persist through time without you. It's a book about love and about fatherhood. But it's also an extraordinary kind of travel writing: an unblinking account of a journey into unlighted territory and of what it means to lose your body and your connections to the world one by one.
This astonishing, luminous book will truly change the way you see the world.
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN: 9780008339944
Number of pages: 272
Weight: 170 g
Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 18 mm
‘it is Hammond’s curiosity about death and his desire to report from the front line that makes this such a strangely invigorating read…his testimony deserves a place on the shelf beside When Breath Becomes Air and Late Fragments’ Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of The Last Act of Love,The Times ‘His voice is captivating, his observations are searing, and his book is a blessing. This book will inspire you even as it breaks your heart’ Kathryn Mannix, author of With the End in Mind ‘I loved this book, 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 The Year of the Runaways 'A Short History of Falling is a beautifully written reminder that life can be tragic as well as full of joy' Christie Watson, bestselling author of The Language of Kindness ‘Touching and tragic. 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 Too Many Pills 'An inspirational, ultimately heartbreaking account of experiencing life as the nervous system fails, shared with courage and humour' Professor Stephen Westaby, author of Fragile Lives ‘It’s something of a cliché to call memoirs about a terminal illness life-affirming. But you will cherish everyone and everything you love, not to mention the capabilities of your own body, all the more dearly after reading this beautiful, devastating and stunningly written memoir’ Caroline Sanderson, Bookseller Book of the Month
Thank you to the publishers for this review copy.
This is quite an emotional and yet addictive book to read. It charts his illness & his life with his family as his illness progresses.
I certainly found myself...
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In these modern times death has become such a taboo subject in many ways. We all know that one day we each will die and be no more but yet talking about death makes many uncomfortable and brings about accusations of... More
Whilst I found the first 1/3rd of the book really interesting, I couldn't gel with the rest of the book. All the chapters seemed to be filled with unnecessary details and the book felt drawn out. I would have... More
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