“Our stories all end the same way; the difference is how we get there.”

Many accepted the Ice Bucket Challenge to raise money for ALS, but the real challenge of Lou Gehrig’s disease begins the moment you or someone you love is diagnosed with this terminal illness. Local author and North Royalton High School English teacher Michael Hemery’s latest memoir follows his father’s last day alive, interwoven with stories of his childhood and his father’s two-year decline.

“So We Go: The Day My Father Died” not only delves into the world of ALS, euthanasia and the medical community’s abandonment, but also offers a narrative of hope — and even laughter — as the Hemerys rally around their beloved husband, father and grandfather.

Hemery, a Strongsville native who now lives in Hinckley, earned his Master of Fine Arts from the Vermont College of Fine Arts, teaches English at North Royalton High School and served as the nonfiction editor for the literary magazine, “Hunger Mountain.” This is his second book, and his short stories have also been published in numerous literary magazines, including the “Los Angeles Review,” “Passages North,” “The Portland Review” and “Redivider.”