Fallosophy

My Trip Through Life with MS: A Memoir

By: Ardra Shephard

Narrated by: Ardra Shephard

Twenty-three-year-old Ardra Shephard is sleeping with the wrong guy, living in a crappy apartment, and spending money she doesn't have on designer shoes, boozy brunches, and weekends in NYC. Making mistakes while you figure stuff out is what your twenties are all about. Then a doctor tells Ardra she has MS, and those two letters split her life into a Before and After.

While over a million people in North America live with Multiple Sclerosis, there is no certainty when it comes to the progression of the disease. By her mid-thirties, Ardra is struggling to walk, and it's terrifying. When she starts using mobility aids, she faces feelings of otherness and not belonging like never before. As Ardra's deepest fears keep coming true, she starts to learn the most important lesson: She's been sold a lie about disability—it isn't a fate worse than death. Having survived all of her worst-case scenarios, she begins to realize that a difficult life doesn't have to be a joyless life.

Fallosophy isn't about fighting an unwinnable battle. This is a story about Plan Bs and pivots. Ardra serves up wisdom like a bartender who has been there: with good humor and a gentle refusal to sugarcoat reality—in this case, what it's really like to walk unsteadily through life with a progressive, disabling illness in a world that would rather not build a ramp.

©2025 Ardra Shephard (P)2025 Tantor Media

Spot on

Ardra’s voice perfectly shares the ups and downs of having MS. Wait, sorry there are no ups. I can hear her eye rolls now. Her writing is effortless and her humor will make you snort coffee. Trust me, it’s a good thing.

Must read for anyone dealing with a chronic illness

I highly recommend Ardra’s book “Fallosophy” to anyone touched by chronic illness, either personally or through a loved one or friend. It offers insight and comfort that truly resonates.

How to Have MS AND a Sense of Humor

Whether you are recently diagnosed with MS or a seasoned veteran, this book is for YOU. Ardra Shepard puts words in to voice and on paper the running dialogue within all of us. So few writers can successfully manage to naturally convey streaming consciousness as well as she has in this book. If you have been blessed with MS or have a family member, friend or coworker labeled with it, this is all the information you wish you knew about since diagnosis. Fallosophy is too good to be called a memoir or an autobiography. It is a real life narrative of actual experiences combined with hilarious wit and an honest perspective of daily life with MS. The audio version is excellent because the story is told by Ardra herself, so expect what will most likely be an award winning performance because it was completely devoid of any mispronunciations and all inflection were placed exactly where they should be. Loved it!

Funny, fierce, honest, searing—and beautiful

I’ve followed Ardra Shepard on Instagram for several years, introduced by my sister. Despite my deep interest in MS because of my beloved sister, I still have a lot to learn, and this book, read with great heart and spirit by the author—has been illuminating, to say the least. Ardra doesn’t pull punches or mince words (or quite possibly she does!). Her honesty is sometimes uncomfortable to witness but it’s absolutely the lifeblood of her story. She’s smart, articulate, very funny even in miserable situations, and discloses aspects of her life with MS that are really difficult and disheartening—and does it in a way that shines with heart and courage. That she’s narrated the book herself is an added gift to us, given the enormous energy it has required of her in a disease that renders very simple things exhausting.
Fallosophy is invaluable to those of us who love someone with MS, and I suspect it is a godsend to people dealing with the disease themselves. Ardra, thank you so much!