If I Fall

If I Fall is an exploration of the particular vulnerability that accompanies chronic sickness and disability. In this account founded on his own life and experiences, Jan Grue explores how society meets this vulnerability with a demand for unseen work – for those with physical disabilities to have to toil even harder, to have to work even more, to be accepted as a person of full value.

Winner of P.O Enquist Prize 2021

Foreign sales:

Denmark, Gutkind

Praise:

“Even though the book comes in at just under 200 pages, almost every sentence is imbued with a type of wisdom, vulnerability and linguistic finesse that means it takes a long time to get through. The sentences often demand that you stop and dwell on what you’ve just read.If I Fall is one of those books that makes you wiser for reading it; a book that leaves you with immense gratitude for the author’s ability.” VG

“Jan Grue initiates crucial conversations about vulnerability, society and disability. […] ‘I want a different world’, Grue has also written, somewhere in I Live a Life Like Yours: ‘I want it to be more open, more free.’ With his work in If I Fall, heactually takes us in that direction, and it deserves to be seen in full.” Klassekampen

Heart-rending. […] Powerful autobiographical prose about vulnerability. […] If I Fall is conscious-raising and interesting reading. And, as always with Grue, crammed with fine phrasing.” Dagbladet

“With his latest book, Jan Grue shows that it is possible to follow up a hit with a piece of literature that is its equal in terms of quality and level of reflection. With this autumn’s book, he continues to poke fun at our fears and our prejudices; continues to show us his vulnerability and powerlessness, but also his strength and humour and extensive skill.” Dagsavisen

“Through Grue’s solid analyses, there emerges a picture of a society that imagines that it is helpful and good, but which nevertheless clearly suffers large blind spots. [The book] thoroughly describes the meticulous extra effort he puts into functioning ‘like normal’ at work and as a husband and father: the work required to perform daily chores, to apply for the resources he needs, to investigate wheelchair accessibility, to plan trips little and large, and so on. The fact that Grue brings this difference into the light and shows us what the world looks like for him is reason enough to read his memoirs.” Vårt Land

“If I Fall has the same strongly personal voice as the previous book. The language is clear and intimate, literary and analytical […] Grue allows us to see our own society, our own ways of arranging things, with new eyes … This is why Grue’s text is so important: It not only introduces us to one unique bodily experience, but lets it be the standard of reference that makes it possible to understand many other different experiences.” Morgenbladet