Bruce H. Kramer (1956-2015) was former dean of the College of Education, Leadership, and Counseling at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was the creator of The Dis Ease Diary (http://diseasediary.wordpress.com), a popular blog about life with ALS, and coauthor of Leading Ethically in Schools and Other Organizations, a realistic look at leadership ethics. The host of Minnesota Public Radio's flagship news program Morning Edition, Cathy Wurzer has been broadcasting conversations with Bruce H. Kramer about his ALS experiences since 2011. She is also the cohost of Almanac on Twin Cities Public Television, the longest-running weekly public affairs program in the nation.
Yet what comes through most powerfully in Kramer's story is not the pain but the quiet surge of gratitude and joy he has discovered in confronting his imminent death. -Next Avenue, Twin Cities Public Television Poetic and practical in embracing the inevitable. -MinnPost Kramer is an excellent writer, a former college professor of education, spinning language in fascinating ways to make the reader stop and think, fell, and explore the profound lessons of a man facing death. He show great wisdom, and the lessons presented in his book apply to all. -Mainstay We Know How This Ends is a hopeful book. And a serious, joyful, literate, nuanced, bracing and funny book. -The Huffington Post There are so many true words of wisdom in this book. -The Caregivers' Living Room Kramer is a powerful writer with a gift for crafting fresh descriptions, situations and emotions that are often reduced to cliches. He provides anyone with a terminal disease, and anyone caring for someone with one, with an eloquent guidebook on how to cope with eventual loss and embrace the days that are left. -The National Book Review A gripping account. -Star Tribune Security and immortality are both superstitions; the best we can do is make an adventure of our lives. In this exquisite book, Bruce H. Kramer finds adventure in the most unlikely of places: the death sentence that is ALS. We Know How This Ends is a moving tale that teaches us more about living well than any self-help book ever can. -Dan Buettner, New York Times bestselling author of The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who've Lived the Longest The revelatory journey that Bruce H. Kramer and Cathy Wurzer take us on is full of insight, wisdom, sorrow-and joy. This beautiful book should be required reading for all patients, caregivers, and clinicians to better understand that there can be growth and peace and exuberant life even while dying. -Jon Hallberg, M.D., University of Minnesota As Bruce's yoga teacher, student, and friend, I have witnessed the story behind this magnificent tale of becoming. I have watched his strength, his grace, and his willingness to love. Bruce's prose is courageous and penetrating, elegant and unprecedented. This book will change your life. -Matthew Sanford, author of Waking: A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence Bruce H. Kramer turns his diamond-hard diagnosis like a prism, reflecting light and joy in surprising places. We need to hear this story now. The honesty and clarity of Kramer and Cathy Wurzer invite us to consider how we live in the face of impending death or unwanted change. -Susan Allen Toth, author of No Saints around Here: A Caregiver's Days