Free Fall | Writings on Voice, Desire, and Surrender

A stirring literary collection that explores the human experience with wisdom and honesty, by award-winning author Dustin Beall Smith

In Free Fall, author and writing teacher Dustin Beall Smith delivers a powerful collection of personal essays, talks, short fiction, and poetry. With a broad range of subjects—from American culture and academia to desire, failure, love, and the impermanence of all things—Smith delves into the lived life. At the same time, he champions the importance of process over product, attention over intention, and implicit meaning over overt messaging. He infuses his writing with humor, risk, and raw emotion, using these elements to write honestly about teaching, learning, and letting go.

Told from first-, second-, and third-person perspectives—and in poetry that dives deep into life’s vicissitudes—Smith’s work embraces the power of writing in one’s true voice.