Now I find myself in late August with the nights cool and the crickets thick in the fields. Already the first blighted leaves glow scarlet on the red maples. Its a season of fullness and sweet longings made sweeter now by the fact that I cant be sure Ill see this time of the year again.... from Learning to Fall Philip Simmons was just thirtyfive years old in 1993 when he learned that he had ALS or Lou Gehrigs 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 has succeeded against the odds in learning the art of living. Now in this surprisingly joyous and spiritrenewing book he chronicles his search for peace and his deepening relationship with the mystery of everyday life. Set amid the rugged New Hampshire mountains he once climbed and filled with the bustle of family life against the quiet progression of illness Learning to Fall illuminates the journey we all must take the work of learning to live richly in the face of loss. 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 hardearned wisdom and a keen eye for lifes 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. show more