A short history of falling by Joe Hammond

This is one of those books that you can really become invested in. By the end, I felt as though I knew the writer Joe Hammond and that the memories shared in the book were actual memories of things he had told me about in conversation.

Joe was diagnosed with Motor Neurone disease when his two boys were very young, and he had to face the reality that he would never see them grow up to be adults. It's a heartbreaking situation and no matter how hard anyone wishes to fix it, there is no cure.

In some respects, a terminal diagnosis frees the mind making it possible to view relationships objectively and write with a kind of honesty that fears no payback. Hard truths are faced and shocking incidents recounted, but all the way through he keeps a sharp sense of humour and a clever turn of phrase.

Joe has written pieces for the Guardian and developed a loyal following, but I regret to say that I had never heard of him before I read this book. That makes me feel as though I have jumped to the last page of a book without putting the effort in to read the rest. This book is a capping piece, a final sign off, and miraculously he is able to continue his own story until very near the end. He recounts the journey from occasional falls and clumsiness to life in a wheelchair with full dependency on others and shares all his emotions from desperate weeping to huge gratitude that he has his family around him.

When I got to the end, I couldn't help but look him up on Google to see the final outcome. The last page that even Joe couldn't write. He died on 30th November 2019, aged just 50, and by then the boys were aged seven and three. So sad to think that little Jimmy will not grow up without personal memories of his father, but for every birthday of their childhood, the boys will receive a birthday card from their dad filled with happy memories.

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