A Life Impossible: Living with ALS: Finding Peace and Wisdom Within a Fragile Existence
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From NFL player Steve Gleason, a powerful, inspiring memoir of love, heartbreak, resilience, family, and remarkable triumph in the face of ALS
“Gleason is a symbol of resilience, hope and optimism.”—The New York Times “Steve Gleason has changed the world.”–Roger Goodell, NFL Commissioner “An extraordinary book…A Life Impossible will change the way people cope, think, and live.”–Mike Lupica, co-author with James Patterson of 12 Months to Live
In 2011, three years after leaving the NFL, Steve Gleason was diagnosed with ALS, a terminal disease that takes away the ability to move, talk, and breathe. Doctors gave him three years to live. He was thirty-three years old. As Steve says, he is now ten years past his expiration date.
His memoir is the chronicle of a remarkable life, one filled with optimism and joy, despite the trauma and pain and despair he has experienced. Writing using eye-tracking technology, Gleason covers his pre-ALS life through the highs and lows of his NFL career with the New Orleans Saints, where he made one of the most memorable plays in Saints history, leading to a victory in the first post-Katrina home game, uplifting the city, making him a hero, and reflected in a nine-foot bronze statue outside the Superdome. Then came his heartbreaking diagnosis. Gleason lost all muscle function, he now uses Stephen Hawking-like technology to communicate, and breathes with the help of a ventilator. This book captures Gleason and his wife Michel’s unmatched resilience as they reinvent their lives, refuse to succumb to despair, and face his disease realistically and existentially.
This unsparing portrait argues that a person’s true strength does not reside solely in one’s body but also in the ability to face unfathomable adversity and still be able to love and treasure life.
9 reviews for A Life Impossible: Living with ALS: Finding Peace and Wisdom Within a Fragile Existence
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Pat Montanaro –
Steve Gleason
It is a great story about Steve Gleason. It show how ALS impacted his life and his refusal to give up. Their foundation has helped numerous people with ALS. It is a great read. You will cry, laugh and think.
gimp10 –
Exciting, Scary, Honest, Inspirational, Instructive, Meaningful
As a New Orleans Saints Fan from Day One (and before,) Steve’s recounting (any recounting) of the blocked punt that supercharged the determination of fellow New Orleanians to recover from the utter devastation of New Orleans never fails to give me chills.As a person who has dealt with disability (Cerebral Palsy) since thirty-six hours after birth, grown up in New Orleans, gone to college, been employed by Exxonmobil (and recognized as Employee of the Year,) married a beautiful woman who still loves me passionately after forty years, I appreciate Steve’s brutal honesty about the momentous obstacles a disability can place in the lives of the person immediately challenged as well as the lives of loved ones and friends. I especially appreciate that Steve does not shy away from the effects a progressive loss of abilities can have on the psyches and attitudes of all people involved. Though CP is not progressive, as ALS is, I have lost many physical abilities during the past few years and the resulting frustrations have been expelled primarily on the person who should least bear the brunt – my passionate and compassionate wife. I’m thankful that this book gave me something I was hoping to find – tips on how to manage my frustrations. Managing my frustrations when venting to my wife is so important in maintaining a healthy marriage that I am now intent on finding way to improve.As far as the philosophy of how to live out my life is concerned, it has been basically the same since I reached adulthood. I have never put it into words as succinct as Steve’s “No White Flags” or “Laugh and smile while I cry and die,” but I decided long ago to enjoy and be grateful my life to the end. Like Steve, my hope is to be grateful for my life even during the process of death. Thank you, Steve, for the validation.I should also mention that Jeff Duncan is a favorite sportswriter of mine. With him, it’s not just about the names and numbers, wins and losses, or scores and standings. Humanity and personalities are also illuminated. Thank you, Jeff, for illuminating the courage in each us via the story found within Steve and Michel Gleason.I would recommend this book to anyone interested in living a fruitful life, especially if they have a Dumb Jock attitude. 😉
Abe –
Poweful and Inspiring, a True Hero.
A Life Impossible, offers a deeply personal and candid look at life with ALS, a neurodegenerative disease that Gleason has been living with since his diagnosis in 2011. What sets this book apart is not just its raw honesty about the challenges of ALS, but the remarkable portrayal of Gleason’s partnership with his wife, Michel. As someone with a close friend facing ALS, I found the depiction of their relationship to be particularly moving and relatable.The memoir provides a window into how ALS affects not only the individual but also their family, especially caregivers. Michel’s role in supporting Steve through the physical and emotional toll of the disease mirrors what I’ve seen in my friend. Gleason’s writing conveys the complexity of their life together—balancing the unrelenting demands of the disease while raising a family and maintaining a sense of normalcy where possible. The resilience they both show is inspiring, but it’s the quiet, everyday moments of love and partnership that make this memoir so impactful.A Life Impossible doesn’t shy away from the hardships, but it also emphasizes the importance of hope, gratitude, and adaptation in the face of adversity. The story is not only a tribute to Gleason’s strength but to Michel’s, and to all caregivers who take on the immense burden of ALS. For those familiar with the disease, this memoir is a powerful and empathetic account of the realities of living with ALS, and it serves as a reminder of the enduring power of love and partnership. A must read!
Karen Anderson –
Raw, honest, inspirational
Steve Gleason has long been one of my personal heroes, not only for his role in the “Rebirth” of New Orleans—my hometown—post Hurricane Katrina, but more so for the grace and humility with which he has faced the devastating hand he was dealt not long after retiring from football. “A Life Impossible” gives the reader a raw, honest glimpse into the day-to-day challenges of living with ALS as experienced by Steve and his wife Michel. His resolve to make a difference in the lives of other ALS patients and their families given his own physical limitations is nothing short of awe-inspiring, and his and Michel’s love story is one for the ages. This is the best book I’ve read in a long time, and I highly recommend it.
kevin gomez –
Inspiring
Steve Gleason’s story is inspiring. We have had several family members lives be taken by ALS. His story is honest and hopeful.
pbl57lsu –
From his eyes to my own
It’s unbelievably hard to put into words such emotion in ones life. For Steve and Michel to share personal raw feelings with the world takes courage. To do this to help others is so Incredibly selfless and beautiful. Most of us cannot compute. I have always admired this family from across lake ponchatrain as I live in Slidell, la. My little brother and I have always been such big fans of Steve’s Kamikaze approach to football. one of the happiest moments in our lives was watching Steve block the punt in the Superdome together (my two brothers and my father.) For us, it had nothing to do with football and everything to do with family,community, survival, and love. This book encapsulates that. Steve and his beautiful family are ambassadors of it. They are in my families hearts and always in our prayers. My most prized photograph in my home is of Steve and Michel signing the same picture that hangs above it. Everyone thinks it’s about football. For me I see two people that love each other under one of the most extreme circumstances. I see love, I see hope. Thank you guys from the bottom of my heart for sharing this with the rest of us. Steve you will never lose your ability to fill people’s hearts. You are eternal in God.
Michele –
Life-Changing
Steve’s story is life-changing. He is astonishing. Please read this book.
Ms. Sian Jackson –
i read this as have a friend with the same condition and i also whanted to read more about famous people with the condition as well
Susan Giles –
I’m still not finished, but learning of his journey has been helpful in dealing with my daughter’s diagnosis. Never give up.