Rating: 
Summary: Learning to Fall
Review: A humorous, profound, wonderful guide to living whether it's with Lew Gehrig's disease or, thankfully, something far less. Simmons uses New England's towns, weather and general life style to remind us all that we need to do what we need to do and to get on with it. One of the best reads I've had in years!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful book
Review: After receiving suggestions to read this book, I waited almost a year to do so. Knowing the author's illness, I felt some trepidation about diving into something ripe with sadness. But anyone considering this book should know that the book really is a blessing. Because it's not sad. In fact, at moments, it's hilariously funny. The stories and ruminations about life (and sometimes death), told by a man who has as much cheer as he does courage (abundant!) lifted my spirits as much as made me see the humor and beauty in the everyday world. Terrific book.
Rating: 
Summary: Didn't anybody dislike this thing?
Review: Alright, he's happy even though he has a terrible disease. Great. But the machinations, the constant references to, "as the (insert great philisophical work here) teaches us..," the down-homeyness of these salt of the earth people building and constantly repairing their places. Ack!I would sooner live in a metropolitan hellhole then be with these people as they take sentimental journeys to the dump and discuss with interest their storm windows. This is entirely too much. It almost wreaks of good country living, completely alienating to this big city fella. I found it onerous to read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Uplifting
Review: Although this book was about the devastating disease ALS, I found it uplifting because the author had such a positive outlook and an acceptance of the situation due to his belief in God. It is hard to have hope in a hopeless situation and ALS is a hopeless situation. I became a part of Mr. Simmons' life while reading this book because he lets us into his everyday life and not only his thoughts but also those of his wife and young family. He truly touched my heart. He teaches us all how to fall.
Rating:
Summary: Uplifting
Review: Although this book was about the devastating disease ALS, I found it uplifting because the author had such a positive outlook and an acceptance of the situation due to his belief in God. It is hard to have hope in a hopeless situation and ALS is a hopeless situation. I became a part of Mr. Simmons' life while reading this book because he lets us into his everyday life and not only his thoughts but also those of his wife and young family. He truly touched my heart. He teaches us all how to fall.
Rating:
Summary: A Timeless Legacy & Oasis
Review: During a very dark time in my life, I happened to pick up this book, sarcastically thinking that it was going to be a positive thinking fluff ball of well-intentioned writing, but I thought I could use it anyway. Thank heavens my temporary cynicism did not deter me from one of the greatest gifts ever to be in print! This book is a spiritual power tool for anyone coping with loss, a candle lit by a stranger in our stormiest nights. This book looks death in the face with the quiet rage of a human being and the grace of a sage- and offers a bridge over the roughest waters of our lives. God bless you, Mr. Simmons for your hard-earned wisdom and generosity of spirit. May your journey lead to all of the riches you've given us in this book and this life. Just knowing someone has been there has meant meant everything. You have given us a legacy that will last a long, long time. I pity those indifferent souls who find no other better thing to do with their idle lives and self-righteous overblown intellects than to criticize this literary jewel. For the "urban fella" below, you have a long way to go, buddy... and a very hard fall. Only then will you know the value of this book and this man's experience. Marlene' M. Druhan- Author (Naked Soul, Llewellyn 1998)
Rating:
Summary: Falling up
Review: For anyone facing grief or loss or extreme challenge, Simmon's perspective of the journey his disease has led him through is profoundly instructive and inspiring. Earlier self-published (with apparent success), the book richly deserves the broader audience a major publisher can now bring it. It is a wonderfully written series of essays, each uplifting in its own way. It can be compared to Tuesdays with Morrie...if Morrie had written it. While deeply spiritual, it is not a book about any specific religion. It is a universal message of hope in the face of hopelessness. Of the peace and freedom which come through accepting, even embracing, the inevitability of life's journey.
Rating:
Summary: Exactly what I needed
Review: I was searching this website and just reading reviews looking for the book I needed, the one that would really help me when I needed it. I found this book, exactly what I was looking for after my mom got breast cancer. It helped me to realize that there are joys in lifes downs as well as ups. A few weeks after I read it, my grandma told me there was this wonderful book that I had to read. Guess what it was. Learning to Fall has been wonderful for my family. We have since given it to my mom and she loved it as we did. If you're looking for something but you don't know what, trust me, this is the book you're looking for.
Rating: 
Summary: We all have to learn to fall eventually
Review: On a recent visit to Europe, I was surprised by the difference in French and German pastries. Both are beautiful, but the "sweetness quotient" varies remarkably. Simmons writes like French pastry - just a little too sweet for my taste. This does not mean that this little volume is not worth a read; however, it does mean that it is not an edgy book. Simmons does not take us into his private depths. He does not invite us to share his personal struggles with doubt. When he asks "Why me?" he tends to ask without pathos and pain. He is, instead, unusually humorous and witty. What Simmons does provide is a collection of twelve remarkable essays that explain why he has not given up on life. Each is written from a post-crisis perspective, and each invites us to embrace life more fully. I cannot resist reference to one story. In it he watches a turtle laboriously crawl out of the water, up the bank, onto the bridge, only to cross the bridge and fall back into the water. While thinking of the futility of all this effort, he sees the turtle start all over again, and is struck by the dance of life. This book is all about dancing in the face of futility. Although we rarely face the truth, we do not control our own existence. Simmons has had to face this fact in a most terrible and personal way. That he can still find laughter, dance, and hope - even while falling - is remarkable. When my own time of falling comes, I want to face it with this kind of courage. I think I'll keep this book on my shelf for my next crisis. I think it might help.
Rating:
Summary: We all have to learn to fall eventually
Review: On a recent visit to Europe, I was surprised by the difference in French and German pastries. Both are beautiful, but the "sweetness quotient" varies remarkably. Simmons writes like French pastry - just a little too sweet for my taste. This does not mean that this little volume is not worth a read; however, it does mean that it is not an edgy book. Simmons does not take us into his private depths. He does not invite us to share his personal struggles with doubt. When he asks "Why me?" he tends to ask without pathos and pain. He is, instead, unusually humorous and witty. What Simmons does provide is a collection of twelve remarkable essays that explain why he has not given up on life. Each is written from a post-crisis perspective, and each invites us to embrace life more fully. I cannot resist reference to one story. In it he watches a turtle laboriously crawl out of the water, up the bank, onto the bridge, only to cross the bridge and fall back into the water. While thinking of the futility of all this effort, he sees the turtle start all over again, and is struck by the dance of life. This book is all about dancing in the face of futility. Although we rarely face the truth, we do not control our own existence. Simmons has had to face this fact in a most terrible and personal way. That he can still find laughter, dance, and hope - even while falling - is remarkable. When my own time of falling comes, I want to face it with this kind of courage. I think I'll keep this book on my shelf for my next crisis. I think it might help.
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