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Onward Forward - My Journey with ALS by Brian Jeansonne
"If you will pay attention to the signs Brian speaks of, to their music and invitations and musings, they will lead you to your life" -Alanis Morissette
Cheeky, bawdy, courageous, contemplative, and full of tenderness for his family, neighbors, and humanity, Brian shines his light so we can see that... in the darkest corners, Love is Everywhere.” - Jenifer Hixson, senior director, The MothNEW ORLEANS, LA, UNITED STATES, September 30, 2024 /EINPresswire / -- Brian Jeansonne 's newly released memoir, Onward Forward , is a book he would have written eventually. He wrote it now because ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, confined him to a power chair, silenced his voluntary muscles, and urged him to focus more deeply than ever on life's most essential questions.
In this heartfelt and irreverent memoir, Brian chronicles the disease process while exploring metaphysical, spiritual, and emotional concepts such as soul, suffering, contentment, presence, and-most importantly-love.
As both narrator and soul guide, Brian writes with raw honesty about the arc of his own faith, as well as difficult periods of depression. He asks and answers life's most difficult but essential questions:
-What is God?
-Why do we suffer?
-How can we best live alongside each other?
-What does it mean to be content?
-How can we do better by ourselves and others?
-What's the role of a parent? A spouse?
-Are Jesus and rock-and-roll compatible?
-What can we learn from Ted Lasso?
With a foreword by fellow soul-seeker Alanis Morissette, Onward Forward is an invitation to fully engage with life, to embrace“the good, the bad, and the shitshow,” and to run toward our truest selves with abandon.
At its core, Onward Forward is an exploration of humanity and what it means to live. Brian Jeansonne tells his story with emotion, humor, and complete transparency, which DartFrog Books believes to be the mark of an exceptional memoir.
Onward Forward has received advance rave reviews.
“Brian Jeansonne and I are soul twins. Our paths merged through ALS, and because of our friendship and the wisdom and beauty in this book, I'm the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I just finished his book and I'm doing backflips on the inside. It's a post-graduate course on how to live in love with this crazy, wonderful Life. I'll read it again and again. Brian is my pastor, sojourner, and friend. I love him forever.”
-Steve Gleason, former New Orleans Saints player and founder of Team Gleason
"At one level, the book is a bracing post-evangelical-pastor memoir; at another level, it is an ALSjourney memoir; at yet a third level, it is like reading the missing chapters of the Book of Job. The language of the book is extremely harsh, but the realities that language is trying to process are much harsher. I learned so much. Everyone should read this book.”
-Dr. David P. Gushee, distinguished professor of Christian Ethics, Mercer University
“This book is insightful and poignant while being completely accessible and sometimes even raw... When it all comes down to it, love is the only thing that matters. Brian is right on. This book is for everyone!”
-Julie Stokes, former Louisiana state legislator, nonprofit leader and entrepreneur
“In Onward Forward, Brian gives us a masterclass on a life well-lived and well-loved. His close-up view of living with ALS is shared alongside the lessons he's learned in his roles as husband, father, pastor, coach, and teacher. Brian is able to strip away the rhetoric, the doctrine, and the bs to uncover the true purpose of life, which in its most raw form, is to love. There is a lesson for all of us in these pages.”
-Jennifer Fenton Weishaupt, founder, Ruby Slipper Cafe; adjunct professor, Freeman School of Business, Tulane University
“Brian's raw story of the heartbreak, struggle, and loss of living with ALS is also a revelation of the deepened love, unexpected joy, and gratitude his diagnosis made possible. The view of life from Brian's power chair is a gift from this lovely, funny, often surprising book.”
-Dr. Stephen Kantrow, MD, pulmonary ALS specialist, professor of medicine, Louisiana State University
The book is available for purchase on Amazon:
The author is available for interviews and the book is available for review.
Libby Bell
DartFrog Books
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CBS Evening News with Brian Jeansonne
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