Just Don't Fall

by Josh Sundquist

A remarkable odyssey that John le Carre calls 'inspiring, courageous, sometimes heartbreaking' Josh Sundquist was an energetic and inquisitive nine-year-old when he was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a virulent cancer that eventually claimed his left leg. His extraordinary journey takes him from his small southern town-with his father, an aspiring pastor questioning his faith, and his mother, a rigidly conservative homeschool teacher- through a dizzying array of hospitals, on to high school, and then to the mountains, where Josh learns to ski. On the slopes, Josh's world bursts wide open and he finds within him the drive to become a champion skier, despite his disability. While he navigates the dramas of high school and an unstable home life, Josh keeps his eyes on the prize-the 2006 Paralympics in Turin, Italy. Just Don't Fall isn't just the story of a boy becoming a man, but of a champion realizing his greatest aspiration.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Audiobook, Autobiography, Disability, Sports

322 pages, Paperback

First published December 17, 2009

About the author

JOSH SUNDQUIST is a Paralympian, author, motivational speaker, and Halloween enthusiast.

Reviews

[J. Aleksandr Wootton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't believe I've ever before finished a book before and thought, "I wish I'd read that sooner."

I had every intention of buying this book the day after it came out, but "things came up" and here I am, with the second edition, two years later. But that's not what I mean. I mean that I wish this story, in all of its depth and wide-eyed detail, had been a part of me sooner. I wish I had let it begin shaping me two years ago.

There are aspects of Josh's story I can relate to - like homeschooling, the College of William & Mary (Josh and I met there our freshman year), writing, public speaking, how being sick can feel like the absolute end of the world to an active nine-year-old.

And there are aspects that I can't. Like having cancer, not having a leg, training for the Olympics and competing in them. Even though I was on the periphery of that last bit, so much of Josh's life is completely foreign to me.

But when you read Josh's book (or hear him speak - he tastefully avoids any plugs for his own career as a motivational speaker in Just Don't Fall, so I'll do it for him here), you don't get that impression at all. Far from a "you don't know what it's like to be me" attitude, Just Don't Fall successfully opens up for us a world of experiences not our own. Josh's style, brimming with boyish candor, lets us share in his internal struggle, wit, and triumphs. I had a hard time not tearing up as I read, sandwiched between strangers, during the flight back from Denver.

The real power of Josh's story, whether read or heard, comes from his positive response to adversity. Hardship is inevitable; books like Josh's, which help point the way through, are invaluable.

[Josh]

Thanks for checking out my book on Goodreads! Please email me anytime at Josh@JoshSundquist.com or hit me up on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/JoshSundquist...

[Ken W · Rating 5 out of 5]

This autobiographical story has all the feels! Such extreme ups and downs! The writing style was excellent and keeps you engaged with the story! 4.5 stars rounded up to 5!

[Mehsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved Josh Sundquist's other book about how he failed with girls, so I was really interested in reading this. And let's just say it didn't disappoint, but it wasn't as good as his new book.

There are several reasons why. For instance, I liked the first part of the book, which was about Josh and the discovery/recovery of his cancer. It was interesting, and especially since I don't know that many people who can recite what they said or did exactly when they were 9-year old. I am guessing his parents must have told him what happened, because sorry, I can't imagine that anyone knows much about his/her childhood, at least not up to the exact words. The fact that he knew (or at least made it seem so) made the story a bit unbelievable.
Still it was interesting and I had a few times that I had to laugh at Josh and how he acted. He seemed quite wise for his age, saying things that I don't really see 9-year olds say.
Back to the whole cancer part. It was very interesting, and at times very painful to read. I felt sorry for him. Losing a leg when you are adult is bad, but when you are a kid and a very active kid at that, it is horrendous.

I also applaud his parents for telling him 90% of the things that happened. Not many parents do this, but I would highly recommend that they do it. It might be scary and it might make the kid cry, but I wouldn't want my kid to die without knowing what hit him or her.

The other thing that I didn't like was how there was a whole lot of focus on when he was 9, then a small part about his High School stuff and then a whole lot on skiing. At times it got a bit boring. Especially the latter part. I don't have that much with skiing, and while I knew there would be a part about skiing, I had actually hoped it would also be about the soccer in which he participated. Especially since we all know how badly he wanted to play said soccer. I kind of was looking forward to him finding out he can still play soccer!

There is also the matter of years and things just disappearing. One moment you would be reading about his spots on his lungs and the next it is a year or maybe even 2 years further and we never find out what happened to the spots. And that is how it goes for other things as well. At times I was just utterly lost, wondering what age Josh was now. 12? 14? 17? I just didn't know, and that is a shame.

Then we have one last thing that I didn't particularly like. And don't get me wrong on this one. I am also religious (just not as much as Josh and his family). I got a bit tired on the whole God and religion part. Especially as I was just shaking my head at little Josh and how he saw certain things.
But the whole religion part played a HUGE role and at times I just wanted to close the book. Especially since this was the stricter kind (cursing is blocked, certain shows are banned, and a few other things).

But there were enough other things. Good things. The way Josh tells us the story, at times (even when things are looking badly) he tells it in a funny way or adds some jokes. I really like his style of writing, and I hope he can keep it up if he writes more novels.

All in all I would recommend this book. However, take in mind the things I said. If you don't like the overly presence of religion, or the fact that years can jump around, then stay away. Otherwise try this one. :)

Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Amy Ziegler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine you're nine years old. You're young, carefree, happy, and your biggest worry is whether or not your mom will let you try out for a traveling soccer team. Then, your leg starts to hurt. A few doctor visits later, you find out you have cancer and a 50-50 chance of living. That's what happened to Josh Sundquist. In his memoir, Josh Sundquist tells stories about growing up in Virginia and what it was like to deal with cancer and amputation at such a young age. He faces many struggles with the cancer, including chemo and surgeries. When his leg ultimately had to be amputated, Josh had to deal with stares, insensitive questions, and occasionally discrimination. However, his biggest struggles came when he decided he wanted to ski in the Paralympics. Josh dealt with varying degrees of success, doubt, and failure along to way to the final ski trials. Will he make it to Italy for the 2006 Paralympics? You'll have to read the book to find out (although the cover might give you a clue). Along the way, he learns that sometimes life doesn't work out the way you want it to, but sometimes the way it works out is better than what you ever imagined. I wanted to read this book because I wanted to read something different than what I normally do, and I've never read a memoir before. When the book talked about how Josh's family struggled with how sick he was, it reminded me of how my family dealt with my grandpa when he was sick. Just Don't Fall really lived up to its promise of being funny and honest when talking about serious topics like death, cancer, and depression. I was really happy with it. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants a feel-good, inspiring story that doesn't take long to read. This book is probably aimed more towards adults/young-adults, but I think teenagers can still enjoy it. At certain parts of the book we can probably relate to it even better than adults can.

[Dana Suaifan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book, even though it took me a decade to finish. I thought I might lose interest but thankfully not. Josh made me cry.

[Robyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gift | terrible audio and poor narrative choices | I just didn't care for this. I first became aware of Sundquist through the Project for Awesome (I think 2014?) and years ago I read his other memoir We Should Hang Out Sometime, which I had mixed feelings about. I've followed his YouTube channel for about a decade without ever watching a video (I unfollowed today because what's the point). I'm physically disabled by illness myself. That's the background to me reading this.
The cadence Sundquist used to record this audiobook was truly awful. Human beings don't speak like that, I don't know why the RecordedBooks producers didn't stop him on day one. I had to increase the speed more than I ever do, just to make it listenable. And the book paints a picture of a person I wouldn't want to know. Given that I didn't like the Josh portrayed in his other memoir, I think it's fair to say that I just don't like him. I don't think he's a bad person, simply one I would prefer not to associate with. My biggest complaint about the book is that he's chosen to write it from the perspective of the age he was when each event occurred. First, I don't think he's done that with much accuracy. He's portrayed as being too naive and sheltered to understand very common cultural touchpoints at age 16, 18, 20, but understanding police procedural tv shows and indicators of prostitution and such years earlier. And he uses adult sarcasm in a child's voice in multiple places (referencing his grandfather's guns, for example). More to the point, however, this tactic lets him avoid saying anything with real depth about how he feels about the various situations. Adult Josh writes his grown up version of what child Josh thought, but doesn't speak at all to whether now, as an adult with wider perspective, life experience, understanding, and awareness, he still feels the same way. Child Josh didn't tell anyone when he was depressed and angry, so it's not mentioned until one sentence when college Josh is in therapy and tells his therapist. Which makes the perspective of child Josh from earlier in the book false, just a front. He should have simply told the story straightforwardly from his perspective at the time of writing. As it is, all of his terrible takes on things in younger days are presented as being advice or epiphanies. He suddenly realizes that a girl he liked never liked him and never really listened to what he would say to her, but he never acknowledges that he also didn't actually like her, or care about what was important to her, he thought she was pretty and turned her into an object, a goal to figure out, conquer, and achieve. Since he doesn't recognize this, it comes across as if this 16 year old girl treated him badly when he was such a great guy, when really they both just weren't there. This is a single example of something that repeats throughout. His bad take is presented in detail, but the lesson he learned later isn't presented at all.

[Sadia Nahreen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a kid, his family and his dreams who sadly had a rare bone cancer (Ewing’s sarcoma) at the age of 9 (got his leg amputated as a result) and beat the cancer to see himself come out as a Paralympic Ski racer 10 years later, a motivational speaker at a very early age, and in general a happy and satisfied human being whose life was not all about losing a leg.

He mentioned in this book that he wanted to show bravery and definitely not weakness, I kinda felt he did the same while writing the book as well. So I didn’t get an elaborate idea about his struggles with a missing limb after his cancer treatments was over. But then again, if I were writing this book, I’d consider dropping them as well since I believe rest of my story would’ve deserved more spotlight than those.

Making the US Paralympic ski team is definitely a feat, but I found his dedication, perseverance and methodical learning more impressive than the actual outcome. I adored how in later life he learned to appreciate the sacrifice of others while he was dealing with cancer, something I can relate to (not with cancer of course). And of course cherry on top was how his brother Matt turned out to be, completely opposite than I was expecting halfway through the book!

A very very good read!

[Jody Walsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Josh Sundquist is a very special young man. Despite his cancer diagnosis and the ultimate loss of his leg he continues to challenge himself physically and mentally. His family's faith and their community of faith encourages them and supports them through some very difficult years. His mother also received a cancer diagnosis and Josh writes very honestly how his family handles both diagnoses. He writes honestly, admitting his failures but what impresses the reader is how he gets back up time after time again. Once again, love is the essence of the story. He often refers to Romans 8:28 and he admits much good comes out of his cancer. He now supports himself and his family as a motivational speaker.

[100procentSam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the first books I read in English (it's not my native language) and I really liked it. It was written very clearly and accurately. The chapters written from the perspective of a young child use words and sentences that are realistic and logical for a child of that age. The chapters from his adult life are stylistically different, but still very easy to understand and never feel infantile. It's definitely a feel good book.

[SouthWestZippy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Josh Sundquist was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma(Cancer) at a young age and loses his leg, this is his story. The first part of the book is about his childhood before and after he loses his leg. The second half is about dealing with the new body, finding his place in life while growing up then moves on into adulthood life. Story is inspirational and I like his humor.

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook which was narrated by the author. Loved the humor thrown in, and glimpses of other family's stories along the way.

[Sheila Lyndsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved how easy it was to read and the perspective from which he told the story. My kids listened to this book too and found it inspiring. We laughed at multiple parts amidst the heartbreaking stuff too.

[Kimberly Lou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great read. Inspirational, funny, heart-wrenching-and-warming. A roller coaster of emotions in reading under 24 hours. I highly recommend it!

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVED this guys voice. You know how little kids "tell it how it is" and they see the whole world from a different angle? He remembered and captured this view point in a way that was both entertaining and inspiring. And maybe that's because he never lost that view point- maybe it's just him. I laughed out loud several times while reading and there were lots of nice thoughtful musings and stories.

I had two-dozen little post-it notes sticking out of the book after I finished- flagging little lines or paragraphs that I wanted to read aloud to Serge. I'll share the first and last ones I flagged:

First quote is just before chemo begins. Joshua is 9 years old:

"One side effect Mom especially wants me to know about is that I might not be able to help my wife get pregnant if I get married. Then I couldn't become a dad.

'Couldn't I just adopt a baby?'

'Well, yes. Of course.'

After she says that, I don't mind about not being able to help my wife get pregnant, because I know that you get the same benefits from adopted children as you get from regular children, like having a small person who can sweep and dust and vacuum for you, or play soccer with you on the weekend when you would probably get bored otherwise, or talk to you for free during dinner at Country Cookin, as long as they are ten and under."

"I used to think skiing would make me famous and rich. Now I know it will do nothing for the former and take me farther from the latter."

That line made me chuckle. I wonder if I'll say the same thing about writing someday :)

[Willow Redd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I met Josh Sundquist at the first VidCon in 2010 where he showed us his one-legged rap video and presented one of his motivational speeches. It was amazing! So, when I found out he had written a book about his experiences, it immediately went on my to-read list. Now, it would take me another few years, and a few VidCons for me to actually acquire the book, but I finally did, and it was such a good read.

From finding out he had cancer at the age of nine, to losing his leg to that cancer, to trying to reinvent himself as a motivational speaker, to discovering his love of skiing and setting his sights on the Paralympic ski team; Josh has put his all into everything he's done. His story is truly inspiring. Also, he is completely honest in his account, including his moments of questioning both his religion and his own convictions in life. He also is frank in his admission to himself of his own depression and his efforts to deal with that.

Having met Josh after everything that happened in this book, it is interesting to see the person he has become after all he has dealt with.

Definitely recommend this book for anyone who enjoys reading truly uplifting memoirs.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book Just Don’t Fall by Josh Sundquist is an inspiring true story about a man who had his leg amputated at the age of 9. His leg was amputated because he had a cancer that was spreading through his leg so rapidly that that was the only way to save his life. Josh was just a normal 9yr old who loved soccer. He really wanted to play soccer but once he got his leg amputated that dream was over. Instead of living the rest of his life in self pity he decided to do something with his life. Instead of giving up on life Josh became a professional one legged skier. This book shows what hard work and determination can do. The author writes very well. He really makes you feel as if you are there going though these difficult times with him. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys well written inspiring stories. The book is an easy read and would be appropriate for all ages.

[Davishi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very inspirational story of a boy who lost his leg to cancer at age 7 and went on to become a paralympic athlete. Read this after watching some hilarious videos he has posted on youtube (he is also a bit of a stand up comic/motivational speaker) and was hoping it would have some of the same sense of humor to it. Written as a memoir of overcoming adversity its not exactly comical (though I did laugh out loud at times) but a great book nonetheless! Just not what I expected after is videos. Quick note to anyone from JMU or Harrisonburg, VA area: He is from Harrisonburg! You will note he mentions places like Purcell Park, Massanutten (where he learned to ski), etc.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved loved loved. I have much in common with the author: from the Shenandoah Valley, a W&M alum and in treatment for cancer at UVa while my sister was in treatment. I remember Josh well and it is such a joy to read about his journey. I sincerely hope that this is the first of many books by him.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great view of a child and later adolescent dealing with cancer and the loss of a limb. I love how the author sees the humor in the situation and the way he brings this to his writing in the quirky thoughts of a child. He is able to capture the perspective of a kid, while subtly hinting at the parent's fears and concerns in the background.

[LaDonna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first saw Josh on You Tube at the National FFA Convention as a motivational speaker. I was so intrigued by his upbeat talk to teenagers that I wanted to read his book. The book is very uplifting and easy to read.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting perspective of a kid going through cancer. this is not a downer of a book but very inspiring

[Hannah G · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't expect this book to be centered around Josh's faith in God but I really really liked it!

[Hillary · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amusing, easily read memoir from one of the most amazing people I've ever had the pleasure of watching on YouTube.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just Don’t Fall is a heart wrenching, astounding, heartfelt book that tells the story of a ten-year-old boy facing childhood cancer. This story goes through the boy's life showing the up and downhill battles of losing his leg but not his life to cancer.
The author, Josh Sundquist, provides a touching tale of overcoming hardships throughout his lifetime. Throughout the book, Sundquist uses a unique style of structuring to portray his story. The book starts out with a bang by writing a page about the feeling of waking up without a leg. This immediately draws you into the story and makes you want to read more. Sundquist then orders every event after that from the starting of finding out that he had cancer. Each character is introduced one by one and is given time to develop throughout the story. For an example, Sundquist dad is one character that took the longest to develop. In the beginning of the book he is seen as a closed off quiet man that treats his kids and his wife well but as the story continues and he finds out that Sundquist had cancer, his true colors come out, his character then develops more and shows the true depth of the father rather than it being him being one-sided. The main character, or the author's character, is one of the quicker developing characters. Right off the bat, you get to see this bubbly ten year old go through what might be the worst time of his life. He is not as one dimensional as the father character because you see the struggle and the personal development of him as time goes on. Sundquist goes from a happy ten-year-old to a kid struggling with learning that he has to amputate his leg and the struggle that goes along with that, to the kid who is conquering and not letting the fact that he has no leg take over his life. His character is the one that takes you on that emotional rollercoaster throughout the story. Making you laugh, cry and be happy with every little thing he does.
One of the more strategic doings of the author is the way he goes from one extreme to the next. This ties into the chronological order and the structure of the text. One moment he is talking about ““She never told johnny that he had cancer. He never knew. He was six years old and had no idea he was dying. They gave him enough medicine so that he was never in pain, even though the leukemia was slowly taken over his body.” (Sundquist, 54) to “Why do adults make promises and then break them? Why do they lie?” (Sundquist, 67) These two quotes are placed directly after one another going from a sad extreme to a comedic extreme. This is a brilliant way to keep readers engaged and entertained all at once.
In the book, Sundquist uses different ways of putting his story on paper to give things the book more depth instead of it being one dimensional telling of his life. This quote, “I have cancer. My life drops out from underneath me and I am falling into blackness through a hole in my bed, but I can't drop off completely because my head and shoulder and chest are too heavy.” (Sundquist, 35), makes you feel for the boy giving you that heart-wrenching feeling. However, uses a drastically different feeling of writing in every chapter. The above quote can have you sitting in your room crying about how heartbroken you feel for the boy but on the other hand this quote, “Saturday is the best day because you don't have to vacuum or wash clothes or mop or dust or sweep or shake out the rugs” (Sundquist, 14), can have you crying laughing at how a child's brain actually works. This quote and quotes like this are the ones that give comedic relief to the heartbreaking story being told by a little boy. Quotes like these are placed strategically to not only give you a break from balling your eyes out but to also give the story a broader range instead of it only going downhill.
Overall this book is one of my favorites. It gives you everything you want and needs from a book, up and down hill emotion, comedic relief and tragic resolution. I recommend everyone to read it at least once the book itself is amazing and the story that comes out of it is inspiring and heartbreaking all at the same time.

[Emily O · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually read the Young Readers edition of this book: Just Don't Fall: A Hilariously True Story of Childhood Cancer, Amputation, Romantic Yearning, Truth, and Olympic Greatness. A student had recommended it years ago for the summer reading list at school, and I never got around to reading it until now.

I was surprised to learn there was a Young Readers edition and at first concerned that we were giving an elementary level book to high school students. The voice of main character and author Josh Sundquist begins quite young. He narrates memories from as early as six years old and writes a lot like a middle schooler. He spouts advice his parents have given him and lessons he had mislearned from a conservative homeschooling environment. For example, he "knows" that kissing girls before you get married might give you AIDS.

However, this version of the book is still appropriate for upper grade levels. The maturity of the character, voice, and writing develops as the story goes on. As a teenager and young adult, Josh's vocabulary and understanding increase. The lessons he struggles to learn - like responsibility and perseverance - become more challenging. The memoir is roughly 300 pages long covering about two decades of his life in a fairly quick-paced plot.

I am curious about the differences between the two editions, though. I began reading with the expectation that Sundquist would spend a lot of time on the physical and mental difficulties of having cancer and the resulting amputation. While "young Josh" does address these some in the lower-level version, the book moves through them at a more rapid pace than I expected. This is logical to keep the attention of kids, but a width of writing more than the depth I looked for.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book. I had the great fortune of hearing Josh Sundquist speak at my company sales meeting in February 2020. I grew up in Virginia Beach, VA and the first place I ever skied as a 12-year old was at Massanutten Resort. Because of this I approached Josh after he spoke at our meeting and introduced myself and connected with him via LinkedIn.

Though I knew much of his life story because he had just spoken to us this book tells a lot more about his life that he did not mention when he spoke with us.

This book is well written and appears to be written when Josh was much older in life and he does a great job of writing as a 9, 10, and 11-year old and opens the reader to his internal voice and self-talk as a 10-year old kid struggling with cancer and a leg amputation.

At times I cried, like the story about his brother Matthew in their shared bedroom (leaving out detail to not spoil the book for future readers) about about Johnny and at times I laughed at Josh's great sense of humor and constant questioning of things and life.

I cried again when learning about Josh's mother and the Marsh's decorated their house the week before Christmas. I cried after the outcome of his first presentation to middle school kids, about his experience at King's Dominion, and about many other things throughout the book.

I cried tears of joy when Josh described his race at the Wells Fargo Bank Cup and about his call to his Dad shortly after and then ultimately as he told his experience in Italy.

This book is amazingly and well written with just the right balance of poignancy and lighthearted humor and Josh shares his emotions with the reader which I really enjoyed.

I highly recommend this book, it's the best memoir and book I have read this year.

[Myles · Rating 5 out of 5]

When reading Just Don’t Fall by Josh Sundquist, It felt as if I was on an emotional roller coaster ride. The Novel begins with a young healthy josh but as he progresses in his childhood he unfortunately runs into a battle with cancer. When I heard this so early I was Very curious to see how the novel could continue with such length. Sundquist tumor was in his leg, and because the sarcoma was chemotherapy-resistant, he had to have a full leg amputation. But that simply does not stop Sundquist from performing. In fact he seems to become even more committed to skiing. Sundquist states “It’s just you’re going to give up a lot of years in your life for this goal.I hope you make it great (pg 247).” This shows josh’s never ending passion and care for the sport.

I Believe that this novel helps us better understand what it means to be an american. I believe the moral of the story is never give up. If you look at our nation’s history whether it was gaining independence from Britain, or World Wars, we never gave up even when odds were all against us. To be an american means to never give up. Josh did not let his leg that was amputated determine his destiny with a sport he loves.

[Kim Mento · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never seen Best Foot Forward on Apple TV. I do follow Josh Sundquist on Instagram, so when I saw a "young readers" edition of his book, I decided to buy it for the library. This memoir started with Josh racing around. He was always fast. He wanted to join travel soccer and wear his soccer uniform to church like his friend Aaron. He and his brother are homeschooled by his mother. Everything changes when Josh noticed his left leg hurts and it feels numb.

I didn't actually cry reading this book, but I did mist up three times while reading. I think my middle schoolers will be interested in Josh's story. Although I enjoyed the book, I was disappointed with the jumps in the story. I wanted to hear more about how he adjusted to school. Did the photographer take his picture again? I wanted to know more about his teammates and how he transitioned from being away from his family. The story is told in Josh's voice and we do get his point of view.

I'm buying a second copy for the library. They will be in biography (from the IT room to the Who Was books).

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[Misha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book because I was on a sports memoirs kick and this one was recommended somewhere. I ended up enjoying it (particularly the first half), but it actually had very little to do with sports. Yes, he was a ski racer, but that was almost a side aspect to the story and only in the second half of the book.

The first half of the book is written in the voice of a nine-year-old homeschooler in a legalistic family who gets cancer. Being about the same age as the author and also being homeschooled (but fortunately not having quite the same strict upbringing) and currently being the parent of a nine-year-old boy, I found it both hilarious and sad and very relatable.

But as he aged, the story started skipping a lot of details, becoming a bit hard to follow at a few points, the negativity towards Christianity became more pronounced (it was humorous confusion when he was nine, but felt more like resentment when he was a teen), and while I still read the whole thing and don't regret doing so, the second half of the book just wasn't as well-written or engaging.