I Remember Running: The Year I Got Everything I Ever Wanted—and ALS

In October 2003, at age 33, Wakefield was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the incurable, progressive neuromuscular degeneration also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. But the author prefers to call it the Darcy Wakefield Anti-Disease, or DWAD. That's because she sees herself primarily as a Maine community college English professor, not a patient, and this renaming of her condition is one of many attempts to own the disease before it owns her. This chronicle of her life from February 2003 through December 2004 is a spirited look at what a difficult terminal illness can and cannot take away from a person. When it comes to the ability to run, to walk, to write, to hold a child and to speak, ALS prevails. Yet Wakefield wins in regard to loving and being loved, having a child and making a home. Her prose is informal and conspiratorial, inviting readers to share her triumphs, her fears and her frustrations. As time and the disease progress, Wakefield, living what she calls "a fast-forward life," seems wiser, braver and more alive than ever. This meditative diary of living with disease just may make readers feel all that, and grateful, too. Agent, Susan Raihofer. (Oct.)