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The Ice Bucket Challenge: Pete Frates and the Fight Against ALS
While everyone knows of the Ice Bucket Challenge, the viral craze that swept the nation in summer 2014, too few know the truly inspirational story behind it.
Pete Frates was a man at war with his own body, a man whose love for others was unshakable. He was a man who refused to fight alone and, in so doing, mobilized a global army to combat one of the most devastating diseases on ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease. When the disease crippled Frates, the former Boston College baseball star turned tragedy into inspiration.
Pete's story is a testament to the power of love, the steadfastness of family, the generosity of strangers, and the compassion of crowds.
Pete Frates was a man at war with his own body, a man whose love for others was unshakable. He was a man who refused to fight alone and, in so doing, mobilized a global army to combat one of the most devastating diseases on ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease. When the disease crippled Frates, the former Boston College baseball star turned tragedy into inspiration.
Pete's story is a testament to the power of love, the steadfastness of family, the generosity of strangers, and the compassion of crowds.
- GenresBiographyNonfiction
Audible Audio
Published September 7, 2017
11 people are currently reading
188 people want to read
About the author
Casey Sherman
25 books225 followersCasey Sherman is a New York Times Bestselling Author of 13 books including The Finest Hours (now a major motion picture starring Casey Affleck & Chris Pine), Boston Strong (the basis for the film Patriots Day starring Mark Wahlberg), Animal & Hunting Whitey.
Sherman is also the author of 12, Search for the Strangler, Animal, Bad Blood, Black Irish, Black Dragon, Above & Beyond and The Ice Bucket Challenge.
Sherman is a contributing writer for TIME, Esquire, Washington Post, Boston Herald and Boston Magazine and has appeared as a guest an analyst on more than 100 television news programs.
Sherman is a graduate of Barnstable High School (Cape Cod), Fryeburg Academy (Fryeburg, Me.) and Boston University.
Sherman is also the author of 12, Search for the Strangler, Animal, Bad Blood, Black Irish, Black Dragon, Above & Beyond and The Ice Bucket Challenge.
Sherman is a contributing writer for TIME, Esquire, Washington Post, Boston Herald and Boston Magazine and has appeared as a guest an analyst on more than 100 television news programs.
Sherman is a graduate of Barnstable High School (Cape Cod), Fryeburg Academy (Fryeburg, Me.) and Boston University.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
January 10, 2018
Summary: The story behind the "Ice Bucket Challenge" and Pete Frates, who has lived five years with ALS and has led a determined fight to raise funding needed for research to end this disease.
Did you do the "Ice Bucket Challenge" back in the summer of 2014? I did, and for fun, you can see this video, posted on my Facebook page, as I doused myself with ice water. According to The Ice Bucket Challenge, we were part of the biggest thing to ever happen on Facebook and my video was one of 17 million. We were joined by celebrities from Oprah Winfrey to George W. Bush to Bill Gates, who did one of the most elaborate challenges. I probably made a donation to ALS research at the time, but I don't think I fully understood the story behind all those challenges until I read this book.
The book is the story of Pete Frates, an athlete who played three sports in college and loved baseball. Number 3 for the Boston College Eagles, his fierce competitiveness led to a league championship victory in Fenway Park. After college he met the love of his life, Julie and continued to play city league ball until that fateful night when he was hit by a pitch on his left wrist. He'd shaken other things like this off, but his wrist and left arm continued to bother him. He noticed he was having difficulty buttoning shirts and both hands and arms wouldn't respond, and he tired easily. Internet searches of his symptoms raised suspicions of ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also know as "Lou Gehrig's Disease, after the famed Yankee player who died from it). A battery of tests led to a meeting where his doctor broke the news that he indeed had this disease, for which there was no cure, and which killed most patients within two to five years. This was in 2012, when Frates was 26.
The book recounts the night of the diagnosis as the Frates family had gathered for dinner, silent as if Pete had already died:
"Pete Frates the captain, Pete Frates the leader, had to step up to the plate. 'There will be no wallowing, people,' he announced. 'We are not looking back. We're moving forward.
Pete's voice was forceful. He spoke with authority. His parents and siblings all sat straight up in their chairs. A bolt of lightning had just illuminated the room.
'What an amazing opportunity we know have to change the world,' Pete continued. 'I'm going to change the face of this unacceptable situation of ALS. We're going to move the needle and raise money to fight.' Pete explained that he was going to get out in front of this disease like no one had done before. 'I'm going to convince philanthropists like Bill Gates to get involved."
Team Frate Train was born. Pete had learned that ALS researchers struggled to get sufficient funding for their efforts. Only a small number (roughly 30,000), are diagnosed with ALS each year, and most are silenced within a few years due to deterioration of nerves and muscles, and dead within five years. The rest of the book is how Pete's family mobilized, built contacts and a social media platform, and made the cause of ALS research funding their own, even as Pete's body rapidly deteriorated. It is a story of Julie, known from childhood for her fearlessness, standing beside the man she had come to love as they married and had a child.
And it is the story of the "Ice Bucket Challenge," the tipping point event that led to accomplishing Pete's vision. Interestingly, another ALS patient did the first challenge, tagged a friend of Pete's on Facebook, who in turn tagged Pete. When Pete saw the videos, he realized that this was the means he'd been looking for. Leveraging his social media platform, he convinced numerous friends to do the challenge. The challenge went viral. Eventually, this effort would raise $220 million for ALS research.
It's a hard book to read at the same time. The authors describe the ravages of the disease and how it has destroyed the body, though not the spirit, of this athletic young man. We learn of the physical indignities, the costs of care, the hard family conversations and frayed tempers and the ever present dangers of infection or pneumonia, that will probably claim Frates life someday if a cure is not found. One such pneumonia scare resulted in rumors of his death in July of 2017. We also glimpse the lighter moments, as Pete goes to a Boston Bruins game in his custom van, Andrew his brother driving, blaring heavy metal and sweet moments as his infant daughter nestles with him in his bed when he can do little more than be with her.
At the time of the writing of this review, he is still alive (with tweets from @PeteFrates during the current week) and he not only continues the fight for ALS funding but persists in the hope that he will live to see his daughter grow up. The book notes that we spent 4 trillion dollars in our war in Afghanistan, but only 300 million in government funding for all medical research each year. The hope of this book is not only that people will find personal inspiration from Pete's life, but join him in "moving the needle" in the fight against ALS.
____________________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher via LibraryThing's Early Reviewers Program in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
Did you do the "Ice Bucket Challenge" back in the summer of 2014? I did, and for fun, you can see this video, posted on my Facebook page, as I doused myself with ice water. According to The Ice Bucket Challenge, we were part of the biggest thing to ever happen on Facebook and my video was one of 17 million. We were joined by celebrities from Oprah Winfrey to George W. Bush to Bill Gates, who did one of the most elaborate challenges. I probably made a donation to ALS research at the time, but I don't think I fully understood the story behind all those challenges until I read this book.
The book is the story of Pete Frates, an athlete who played three sports in college and loved baseball. Number 3 for the Boston College Eagles, his fierce competitiveness led to a league championship victory in Fenway Park. After college he met the love of his life, Julie and continued to play city league ball until that fateful night when he was hit by a pitch on his left wrist. He'd shaken other things like this off, but his wrist and left arm continued to bother him. He noticed he was having difficulty buttoning shirts and both hands and arms wouldn't respond, and he tired easily. Internet searches of his symptoms raised suspicions of ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also know as "Lou Gehrig's Disease, after the famed Yankee player who died from it). A battery of tests led to a meeting where his doctor broke the news that he indeed had this disease, for which there was no cure, and which killed most patients within two to five years. This was in 2012, when Frates was 26.
The book recounts the night of the diagnosis as the Frates family had gathered for dinner, silent as if Pete had already died:
"Pete Frates the captain, Pete Frates the leader, had to step up to the plate. 'There will be no wallowing, people,' he announced. 'We are not looking back. We're moving forward.
Pete's voice was forceful. He spoke with authority. His parents and siblings all sat straight up in their chairs. A bolt of lightning had just illuminated the room.
'What an amazing opportunity we know have to change the world,' Pete continued. 'I'm going to change the face of this unacceptable situation of ALS. We're going to move the needle and raise money to fight.' Pete explained that he was going to get out in front of this disease like no one had done before. 'I'm going to convince philanthropists like Bill Gates to get involved."
Team Frate Train was born. Pete had learned that ALS researchers struggled to get sufficient funding for their efforts. Only a small number (roughly 30,000), are diagnosed with ALS each year, and most are silenced within a few years due to deterioration of nerves and muscles, and dead within five years. The rest of the book is how Pete's family mobilized, built contacts and a social media platform, and made the cause of ALS research funding their own, even as Pete's body rapidly deteriorated. It is a story of Julie, known from childhood for her fearlessness, standing beside the man she had come to love as they married and had a child.
And it is the story of the "Ice Bucket Challenge," the tipping point event that led to accomplishing Pete's vision. Interestingly, another ALS patient did the first challenge, tagged a friend of Pete's on Facebook, who in turn tagged Pete. When Pete saw the videos, he realized that this was the means he'd been looking for. Leveraging his social media platform, he convinced numerous friends to do the challenge. The challenge went viral. Eventually, this effort would raise $220 million for ALS research.
It's a hard book to read at the same time. The authors describe the ravages of the disease and how it has destroyed the body, though not the spirit, of this athletic young man. We learn of the physical indignities, the costs of care, the hard family conversations and frayed tempers and the ever present dangers of infection or pneumonia, that will probably claim Frates life someday if a cure is not found. One such pneumonia scare resulted in rumors of his death in July of 2017. We also glimpse the lighter moments, as Pete goes to a Boston Bruins game in his custom van, Andrew his brother driving, blaring heavy metal and sweet moments as his infant daughter nestles with him in his bed when he can do little more than be with her.
At the time of the writing of this review, he is still alive (with tweets from @PeteFrates during the current week) and he not only continues the fight for ALS funding but persists in the hope that he will live to see his daughter grow up. The book notes that we spent 4 trillion dollars in our war in Afghanistan, but only 300 million in government funding for all medical research each year. The hope of this book is not only that people will find personal inspiration from Pete's life, but join him in "moving the needle" in the fight against ALS.
____________________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher via LibraryThing's Early Reviewers Program in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
December 13, 2017
>Book Review – The Ice Bucket Challenge
>I am an independent reviewer. This book is a standalone biography. The Ice Bucket Challenge and its beginnings are described while giving a biography of a unique young man, Pete Frates. Pete, once an outstanding 3 sport athlete, now suffering from ALS, has a “never give up” attitude and is fighting with everything he has to gain awareness and raise money to search for a cure for this terminal disease. ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, gradually steals all muscle movement until everything shuts down in just 2-4 years. Pete has just passed the 5 year mark and is still holding on.
>Details of Pete’s life are told in chronological order. After his diagnosis, he married and had a baby girl, Lucy. This book tells some backstory on Pete’s mom, his wife and his brother. The book could be heartbreaking, but instead gives one a feeling of hope. If everyone gets together to donate and the researchers pool their knowledge, a cure should be in the future. Due to the Ice Bucket Challenge, ALS research has already advanced leaps and bounds.
>This book is appropriate for a young adult (10+) to adult audience. I am giving this book 5 stars. The authors of this book are donating half of the profit from book sales directly to Pete’s family to help with his home health care costs. I have had the privilege to meet Pete and the Frates family. They are the most positive and upbeat people I have ever met.
March 1, 2021
Do you find any meaning in a “death sentence“ at age 27? At the brink of your life. Pete Frates, once a successful baseball player receives the devastating diagnosis of ALS at age 27. Devastating for many, but hopeful for Pete. On the search for a more meaningful life, he did find his meaning through ALS. His mission. He wants to change ALS forever. And he did.
The Ice Bucket Challenge starts with a conversation between Julie Kowalik, Pete’s fearless girlfriend, and her mother Kate. She is about to meet Pete’s parents and friends for the first time at Pete’s baseball game. A game that leaves Pete frustrated, angry and confused because his body is slowly failing him and he had no idea why.
Reading The Ice Bucket Challenge takes the reader on a remarkable journey. A journey full of hope. Hope in the face of extreme adversity. Pete’s story leaves the reader in awe of his ability to turn adversity into opportunity, and use the power of social media to drive a global movement for funding ALS research.
Pete Frates’s story in The Ice Bucket Challenge is by all means an inspiring read not only for people diagnosed with ALS, but for everyone. He shows that any adversity, even a “death sentence“, can be turned into an opportunity with tenacity, passion, intensity, dedication, and the right team.
The Ice Bucket Challenge starts with a conversation between Julie Kowalik, Pete’s fearless girlfriend, and her mother Kate. She is about to meet Pete’s parents and friends for the first time at Pete’s baseball game. A game that leaves Pete frustrated, angry and confused because his body is slowly failing him and he had no idea why.
Reading The Ice Bucket Challenge takes the reader on a remarkable journey. A journey full of hope. Hope in the face of extreme adversity. Pete’s story leaves the reader in awe of his ability to turn adversity into opportunity, and use the power of social media to drive a global movement for funding ALS research.
Pete Frates’s story in The Ice Bucket Challenge is by all means an inspiring read not only for people diagnosed with ALS, but for everyone. He shows that any adversity, even a “death sentence“, can be turned into an opportunity with tenacity, passion, intensity, dedication, and the right team.
June 30, 2025
I was diagnosed with bulbar ALS in May 2024. I live in Texas, and I’m 68 years old. I take Nudexta medication to help with the emotional outbursts of laughing and crying. The weakness, slurred speech, and muscle loss progressed quickly. Mobility has been an issue since Dec 26, when I fell and broke my hip, and although I made small strides at first, I felt like my life had been placed on a countdown, as there was no known cure other than the prescription of riluzole medications, vitamins, and therapies. As the disease progressed, my symptoms worsened. With my neurologist's guidance we decided to try other approaches and started the ALS/MND treatment, and it changed everything. Within 5 months, I noticed more strength in my limbs, clearer speech, and I have stopped using feeding tubes. I’m starting to learn how to walk again & I now sleep better. This ALS/MND treatment program gave me back control and hope. we got the treatment from uinehealthcentre. net This is a game changer for people with ALS.
December 7, 2017
I won this book in a give away on Goodreads and University Press of New England. I had a wonderful friend who died of this awful disease in the 1970's and there has not been much progress made since then. I am hoping with this challenge more funds will be used to find a cure and treatment.
While everyone knows of the Ice Bucket Challenge, the viral craze that swept the nation in summer 2014, too few know the truly inspirational story behind it. Pete Frates was a man at war with his own body. A man whose love for others was unshakable. A man who refused to fight alone, and in so doing mobilized a global army to combat one of the most devastating diseases on earth: ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease. When disease crippled Frates, the former Boston College baseball star turned tragedy into inspiration. Pete's story is a testament to the power of love, the steadfastness of family, the generosity of strangers, and the compassion of crowds.
While everyone knows of the Ice Bucket Challenge, the viral craze that swept the nation in summer 2014, too few know the truly inspirational story behind it. Pete Frates was a man at war with his own body. A man whose love for others was unshakable. A man who refused to fight alone, and in so doing mobilized a global army to combat one of the most devastating diseases on earth: ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease. When disease crippled Frates, the former Boston College baseball star turned tragedy into inspiration. Pete's story is a testament to the power of love, the steadfastness of family, the generosity of strangers, and the compassion of crowds.
July 3, 2022
Hope this is allowed here if not I understand. My husband was diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) when he was 63 years old 4 years ago. The Rilutek (riluzole) did very little to help him. The medical team did even less. His decline was rapid and devastating. His arms weakened first, then his hands and legs. He resorted to a wheelchair (Perbombil C300). A year ago, I began to do a lot of research and came across Health Herbs Clinic, I decided to start him on the ALS herbal protocol as I had nothing else to turn to; 2 months into treatment he improved dramatically. At the end of the full treatment course, the disease is totally under control. No case of dementia, hallucination, weakness, muscle pain and he is even learning to Walk again. visit www healthherbsclinic c o m
January 24, 2018
A truly heart-breaking and inspirational story of local hero, Pete Frates and his battle to bring visibility to ALS. His indomitable spirit and refusal to let his disease define him or limit his ability to reach his goal of raising awareness and funding for this horrific disease is humbling and uplifting. I don't generally buy books since I like to support he local library, but considering that half the proceeds will go to the Frates family to help pay for Pete's medical bills, I'd buy one for everyone I know if I could.
January 2, 2020
WOW! What an incredible story of one man’s positive & resilient spirit in the face of such a terrible disease. Pete & Julie’s love story is so inspiring, & touching. What a real life, selfless angel Julie is! I so enjoyed reading about the strong & loving Frates family & their dedication & devotion to Pete all their family unit as a whole. They really represent what true love for family is all about. Casey & Dave told the story, beautifully.
October 1, 2017
Incredible. The Frates family are ... well, there are not words for the passion, purpose, love, and determination that each family member - and Pete, especially - possess. This is a quick read that will change your perspective, and most likely endear you to a cause that people knew little about before Pete Frates. Inspirational, emotional, must read.
October 18, 2017
The writing is a little trite at times, but beyond that, this is the incredible story behind the story of the ice-bucket challenge. Despite taking part in the Ice Bucket Challenge myself, I'm saddened by how little I actually knew about the deeply personal story at the heart of the phenomenon that started here in Boston but galvanized people all around the world.
December 3, 2017
Thanks to LibraryThing and ForeEdge books.
Quite an inspirational book. I knew about the Ice Bucket challenge when it became popular in 2014 but never knew the story behind who started it. ALS is a horrible disease and Pete is a real inspiration. The work this family has done is incredible to cure this disease and others in this field.
Quite an inspirational book. I knew about the Ice Bucket challenge when it became popular in 2014 but never knew the story behind who started it. ALS is a horrible disease and Pete is a real inspiration. The work this family has done is incredible to cure this disease and others in this field.
March 6, 2018
This was an inspirational story of one person's fight against one of the most devastating diseases. As a resident of the Boston area and ALS advocate who been able to meet some of the individuals featured in the book, it was nice to have the familiarity with the surrounding events leading up to this amazing story. Keep fighting the fight!
March 5, 2023
In July last year, I started on Lou Gehrig’s disease TREATMENT PROTOCOL from Health Natural Centre (ww w. healthnaturalcentre. org). One month into the treatment, I made a significant recovery. After I completed the recommended treatment, almost all my symptoms were gone, great improvement with my movement and balance. Its been a year, life has been amazing
January 31, 2025
My husband was completely immobile due to my long term ALS condition, he was taking high doses of prednisone and anti-inflammatory medicines which caused many bad side effects. After he started ALS/MND formula from uinehealthcentre. com, his condition greatly improved. It's been 13 months since treatment. I’m surprised a lot of CALs, and their PALS haven’t heard of it
August 31, 2017
Pete's story is amazing and the work he's done for ALS is incredible. The book itself isn't great, it comes across as cheesy for something so challenging as Pete's journey. But it's a quick read and worth purchasing for the donation to the Frates family.
September 15, 2017
Inspiring
Pete Frates has captured the attention of the world and focused it on the horrible disease he is battling. This book is a very candid and open look into the the life of a family battling ALS. I am glad I read it.
Pete Frates has captured the attention of the world and focused it on the horrible disease he is battling. This book is a very candid and open look into the the life of a family battling ALS. I am glad I read it.
December 30, 2017
Inspiring! What a guy who made an incredible difference. If you've never done the Ice Bucket challenge - it's not too late. Just remember to DONATE!
December 23, 2019
Amazing story of a wonderful family who came together to help one of their own fight an unimaginable battle.
January 18, 2022
Nice novel outlining who and what created the Ice Bucket Challenge.
October 10, 2018
I read the book The Ice Bucket Challenge by Casey Sherman and Dave Wedge, made on September 5, 2017. This book took place in my hometown Beverly and surrounding city’s, in the 21 century. The main character in this book was Pete frates. In this book it shows the tragic diagnosis of ALS to a young athletic man. Also on how this tragedy affect Pete’s friends and family in good and bad ways. Pete didn’t want ALS to ruin the rest of his life so he thought of ways he could make a difference. He and his family came up with a fundraiser idea to raise money fireproof the little know about disease called ALS. He came up with an ice bucket challenge where you would challenge someone to either donate money to ALS or dump ice water on your head. Next thing Pete know it’s gone viral and everyone’s doing it. The theme of this book is when a major setback in life shows up don’t give up, see it as an opportunity to make someone great out of it. I personally really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed it because I like see all the city names that I knew and have been to and also how someone can stay so positive during a terrible situation. All in all I would recommend this book to anyone.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 6, 2020
Pete Frates and his family are front and center fighting ALS with pure determination. Pete literally changed the world and opened its eyes to the challenges of ALS. This biography not only captured my heart but taught me more about this terminal disease. It's also pretty amazing that the authors are donating half of their proceeds to Team Frates!
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews