A Life Derailed: My Journey with ALS
$9.99
An athletic young professional, only a few years out of college, begins to feel something is wrong with his body. Unknowingly, he has already started a new and terrifying journey.
Nate Methot is a mere twenty-five when he experiences his first ALS symptoms in 2010. Thoroughly skilled in the art of avoidance, he spends months keeping his fears to himself. His life changes forever on a Wednesday morning shortly after his twenty-seventh birthday.
Nate struggles to accept that much of his identity―the most deeply rooted characteristics of his being―has already been left in the past. He is determined to hold on as long as he can, using stubborn resolve and headstrong delusion to fight off the inescapable truth. He is repeatedly broken and learns a new lesson almost daily, constantly adapting as he must.
A Life Derailed is an honest and unapologetic memoir about a young man’s journey navigating the relentless and ever-increasing challenges of a life with ALS. It’s a story about loss, self-reflection, and growing up. About hiding and loneliness and shame; unshakeable strength and absolute weakness at once. Nate’s ultimate fight is to accept what has happened and find a new purpose in life.
ASIN : B0B18SNRV2
Publisher : Nate Methot
Accessibility : Learn more
Publication date : June 7, 2022
Language : English
File size : 857 KB
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 285 pages
ISBN-13 : 978-0578399003
Page Flip : Enabled
Best Sellers Rank: #360,368 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store) #351 in Biographies of People with Disabilities (Books) #3,714 in Memoirs (Kindle Store) #9,269 in Memoirs (Books)
Customer Reviews: 4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 157 ratings var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
Deirdre Nunez –
Powerful Story of Resilience
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Nate Methot’s memoir, A Life Derailed: My Journey with ALS. It is a very candid narrative that illustrates Methot’s strength and tenacity in the face of a diagnosis of ALS at the young age of twenty-seven. He shares that at the age of twenty-five, he just doesn’t feel well. He feels tired and weak at times. Yet, he continues to to work full time in a taxing job that includes traveling regularly. He is young and vibrant and wants to keep up with his friends and a multitude of athletic activities. He wants to maintain his freedom and independence. Without giving his whole story away, his memoir left me understanding the depth of Methot’s resilience and desire to actively live a good and purposeful life. I found his story to be extraordinarily authentic and open. I highly recommend Nate Methot’s memoir. It’s witty and genuine as it gives readers an opportunity to know that no matter what we are confronted with, we should all live our lives to the fullest.
Joe Mack –
Beautiful, powerful, painful
Nate, thank you for unflinchingly sharing your story. Such honesty, such soul baring. You are fierce. I sense the full, undamaged you through your writing. Despite the awful physical limitations imposed by ALS, you come through loud and clear.Your words in the last chapter remind me to be grateful, appreciate all I can see and do. To not take even the simplest things for granted. I thank you for that.
LJ –
Gutsy and gut-wrenching
Full disclosure right off the bat: I’m related to the author; otherwise this kind of book would not ordinarily be my choice of literary fodder – a harrowing tale which we know going into it unfortunately has no long-term happy ending.THAT SAID. I started this book on my lunch break with full intentions of putting it down until the end of the workday, but ended up unable to quit and kept reading it all afternoon until I finished. Nate’s memoir is an epic demonstration of strength in the face of adversity, with a well-tuned use of (often parenthetical) dry wit against the inevitable remonstrations faced when one’s body refuses to cooperate with the wills of the mind. We see the head-in-the-sand denial, the gradual realization, and eventual (and expectedly reluctant) acceptance, all sprinkled with related past and present experiences that showcase the contrast between what was, what could have been, and what is. Nate lays everything bare, with frank descriptions of the physical challenges he encounters attempting previously-commonplace activities and the mental anguish caused by failing at these tasks, along with detailed illustrations of the work-arounds he’s developed to confront these mounting tribulations. However obviously heart-wrenching, his story is in total an inspirational one that at the very least serves as encouragement to readers to take every chance and climb every mountain, for each one may unknowingly be the last. His supreme courage in putting these innermost thoughts and experiences out so candidly, however humiliating or humbling, is to be commended. I only hope that Nate continues to find outlet and purpose in writing and sharing his ongoing journey.
PR –
Excellent ALS Autobiography
Nate Methot’s book is an excellent firsthand portrayal of living a life with ALS. I should know, I suffer from it myself. Three things set his book apart from other ALS autobiographies I have read – his excellent writing, the fact that he was diagnosed in his 20s, and the fact that he has lived over ten years since being diagnosed. 80% of people w/ALS die within two to five years of diagnosis. So, he has lived almost his entire adult life under the death sentence of this disease. In excruciating detail he recounts his continuing disability, the resulting emotions, and his quest to remain independent as long as possible.I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn what it’s like to live with ALS and anyone who is interested in the subject of living with disabilities. In the short time I have had ALS I have become “woke” on the subject, having encountered things like handicapped spots with curbs too high for me to manage, and handicapped toilets that are so low to the ground I had to ask help from a stranger to get off it. One of the most poignant passages is his report about the newfound freedom his electric wheelchair and handicapped van gave him. But the wheelchair was so heavy that unlike his manual wheelchair there was no way for him to get it up the two or three stairs into his friend’s house, leaving him an outsider, yet again. These kind of experiences take their toll on we people with disabilities.
lspik –
Nate writes from his raw and honest heart.
I wish he would have been open to ongoing psychological support from the beginning, But not having an intimate knowledge of what the impact of this diagnosis can have on a young adult I cannot judge him. Nate Methot is an incredible human being. I wish he could have let his close friends into his pain. I think he did them a disservice and denied them the opportunity to show him the depth of their love and support for him. That he went as long as he did on his own is awesome. He is so much stronger than he knows. I would have been honored to know him.
Sarah Heather –
I couldn’t stop reading this book. Nate is a great writer going from the present to the past with ease so the reader can understand exactly how he discovered ALS and how he felt in each moment. He also gives a rare insight into how someone with ALS has to manage day to day tasks that others take for granted. I wish Nate happiness for the future
Phoebe Stone –
Thebest account of living with ALS I have ever read. Will remember this book for a very long time, maybe forever.
Anonymous –
A well-written book. Prone to jumping between time periods in the author’s life so there can be moments when one is unsure whether the story is before or after diagnosis. Nevertheless a blisteringly honest recollection of the most devastating disease. A warning that life can change in an instant, but a reminder that the human spirit is strong, even in the face of unbearable circumstances.