A Life Derailed: My Journey with ALS

An athletic young professional, only a few years out of college, begins to feel something is wrong with his body. Unknowingly, he has already started a new and terrifying journey.

Nate Methot is a mere twenty-five when he experiences his first ALS symptoms in 2010. Thoroughly skilled in the art of avoidance, he spends months keeping his fears to himself. His life changes forever on a Wednesday morning shortly after his twenty-seventh birthday.

Nate struggles to accept that much of his identity―the most deeply rooted characteristics of his being―has already been left in the past. He is determined to hold on as long as he can, using stubborn resolve and headstrong delusion to fight off the inescapable truth. He is repeatedly broken and learns a new lesson almost daily, constantly adapting as he must.

A Life Derailed is an honest and unapologetic memoir about a young man's journey navigating the relentless and ever-increasing challenges of a life with ALS. It's a story about loss, self-reflection, and growing up. About hiding and loneliness and shame; unshakeable strength and absolute weakness at once. Nate's ultimate fight is to accept what has happened and find a new purpose in life.