Learning to Fall: The Blessings of an Imperfect Life

A “reflective, eloquent [and] inspiringly written” (The New York Times) collection of essays about learning to live richly in the face of loss
 
“Astonishing . . . sometimes heartbreaking . . . sometimes hilarious.”—The Boston Globe
 
WINNER OF THE BOOKS FOR A BETTER LIFE AWARD’S BEST SPIRITUAL BOOK

Philip Simmons was just thirty-five years old in 1993 when he learned that he had ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, and was told he had less than five years to live. As a young husband and father, and at the start of a promising literary career, he suddenly had to learn the art of dying. Nine years later, he succeeded, against the odds, in learning the art of living. In this surprisingly joyous and spirit-renewing book, he chronicles his search for peace and his deepening relationship with the mystery of everyday life. 
 
From our first faltering steps, Simmons says, we may fall into disappointment or grief, fall into or out of love, fall from youth or health. And though we have little choice as to the timing or means of our descent, we may, as he affirms, “fall with grace, to grace.”

With humor, hard-earned wisdom, and a keen eye for life’s lessons—whether drawn from great poetry or visits to the town dump—Simmons shares his discovery that even at times of great sorrow we may find profound freedom. And by sharing the wonder of his daily life, he offers us the gift of connecting more deeply and joyously with our own.

Philip Simmons was an associate professor of English at Lake Forest College in Illinois, where he taught literature and creative writing for nine years before he was diagnosed with ALS. His literary scholarship has been published widely and his short fiction has appeared in Playboy, TriQuarterly, Ploughshares, and the Massachusetts Review, among other magazines. He died in 2002.