Just Don't Fall

How I Grew Up, Conquered Illness, and Made It Down the Mountain

By: Josh Sundquist

Narrated by: Josh Sundquist

At age nine, Josh Sundquist was diagnosed with cancer, and by age 10, he'd lost his leg to the illness. But Sundquist never faltered in his dream to ski in the Paralympics, and in 2006 he achieved his goal in Turin, Italy.

Just Don't Fall is the remarkable and honest story of Sundquist's determination and grit in the face of long odds and tough choices.

©2010 Josh Sundquist (P)2010 Recorded Books, LLC

Not halfway through and I'm absolutely in love.

I consume many audio books, I listen daily. However, I don't often listen to a book and think, "man, I REALLY like this book," but I can't stop thinking it with this one. Josh captures the language and mannerisms of a child throughout that section of the book with so much humor and wit. It really sounds like he could have been writing it at the time. It is refreshing, uplifting, and laugh-out-loud funny.

If you don't laugh and cry you weren't listening.

If you could sum up Just Don't Fall in three words, what would they be?

Beautiful, Difficult Life

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

One more thing, one more time. (1MT,1MT)

Any additional comments?

Found Josh through youtube and decided I really wanted to listen to the whole of his story. Josh is an amazingly open guy and his story has the feel of being told through whatever age he is at during that part. Good humor and a lot of richly recreated life moments. Some very deep stuff from cancer to learning how to deal with and overcome failure. I love that Josh doesn't sugar coat some of the things in his life because it gives the overall book a much better and realistic.. and therefore more meaningful, taste.

A fun read

What did you love best about Just Don't Fall?

This is such a funny story considering it deals with cancer. Josh just was determined to have a uniform. . .regardless of circumstances or what life dealt him.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Josh - he is extremely funny and clever about coming up with some of the most outlandish ideas.

What does Josh Sundquist bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Josh brought his full emotionally packed story--I don't think anyone else could have made this book as much fun as it was.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This was a book that was very fun to read--I laughed out loud at some of the events that happened in the story.

awesome

spectacular in every way. Josh is amazing and I really want him to do an assembly at my school.

A lot to think about

This book isn't perfect. The forced kid-thinking at the beginning is heavy handed and some scenes are undoubtedly more interesting to have lived than to hear about. That said, when the story connects with you, it does so HARD. Inside the annoying kid-think is also an existential clarity that is disarming and profound. The stories about family and priorities really make you examine your own life. And, although not to the same extent, most of us can relate to the honest awkwardness of his early public school interactions. Listening to Just Don't Fall is definitely a rewarding experience.

inspirational

i loved this book. it flowed perfextly. i think Josh narrarating it made it that much better.

Not what I expected

I saw his Halloween costumes on social media, so thought the book would be a fun listen, because usually people with a sense of humor have interesting stories.

The tone of the majority of the book was written in the voice of a sheltered, middle school boy. When it switched to his adult tone, it didn’t really get much better, because the naïveté of his child self was offset by the preachiness of his adult voice.

The Christian testimony and religious undertones were strong throughout the book, which is what surprised me, because usually religious authors are very upfront about that aspect of their character, and use it as a selling point.

I know some reviews were uncomfortable with the book because of ‘adult content’, which I can understand, It reads very much like a Christian testimony story for 2/3 of the book. But the last part of the story brings in cussing, him talking about streaking naked in college, discussions about sex, and other related topics. None of this was graphic in nature, however.

I disliked how he referred to his teammates and coaches in his narrative, and the subtle (and not so subtle) digs he made about them throughout the book. I also disliked how he used his special interest of motivational speakers to manipulate those around him when he was younger. As you finish the book, it makes you question how he has manipulated you through the book, using those same techniques.

Just Don't Fall

This book seemed to be at first a Christian testimony of how an amputee triumphed over the odds and won a skiing award. Part one of the book was very well written; void of any offensive language or material. Part two was exactly the opposite. Vulgar language and explicit sex scenes are offensive to me therefore I chose not to complete this book. Although there were no descriptive sex scenes by the author in the book as far as I read, the casual reference to them by the author's companions was enough! Underneath it all I sensed an attempt for this character to find a place for himself in this world. I hope he accomplished that. Perhaps there is a sequel, which is more of my taste in reading material, about that accomplished end.