In 2017, at age 37, Brian Wallach, a former Obama administration lawyer, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), an incurable, progressive neurodegenerative disease, and given six months to live. This, on the same day he and his wife, Sandra Abrevaya, brought their second daughter home from the hospital.
Somehow, Wallach is still alive. Although deeply physically compromised, the former federal criminal prosecutor and assistant U.S. attorney has soldiered on, co-founding (with Abrevaya) the vital nonprofit support organization I AM ALS and testifying before Congress on behalf of ALS relief.
Wallach and Abrevaya's efforts, including additional lobbying work on Capitol Hill, helped secure passage and signage in 2021 of the Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act. The landmark bill, co-written by Wallach, unlocked $500 million for ALS research.
Wallach and Abrevaya's profound and vital journey was captured by filmmaker Christopher Burke, an old college friend of Wallach's, for what would become the inspiring and uplifting Prime Video documentary “For Love & Life: No Ordinary Campaign.”
The Envelope recently chatted via Zoom with Wallach (whose limited speech ability requires an interpreter), Abrevaya and Burke about the making of the film (filmed between 2019 and 2022) and their mission to raise awareness about this devastating disease.
Let's start from the beginning: Chris, how did the film come about? Was it always planned as a feature-length documentary?
Chris Burke: When I found out about Brian's diagnosis, I offered to help him in any way I could. Initially, it was to film a small release promo for I AM ALS. But when I started filming, I realized there was a lot more going on than we could summarize in a 60-second spot. Then, when I accompanied Brian to his April 2019 testimony before the House Appropriations Committee… I was beginning to see how Brian and Sandra operated and how his growing movement was coming together. I realized we were going to be in this for a long time.
“I knew right away that it was going to be important to open up all of our lives in that way. People were able to see the good and bad parts and were able to understand what ALS is like and how it affects people who live with it,” says Brian Wallach, here with his wife, Sandra Abrevaya.
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When did you know you were filming a full-length documentary?
Burke: When I started sharing the raw material with my producing partner, Tim [Rummel], he was like, “You have to get on with this. What happens if we make it a featured document? In the end we realized that this would be the potentially most powerful way to reach the greatest number of people in a substantial way.
Brian and Sandra, did you always agree to make the film, knowing how intimate, long and exhausting the process could be?
Brian Wallach: I knew right away that it was going to be important to open up all of our lives in that way. People could see the good and bad parts, and they could understand what ALS is like and how it affects people who live with it. And I knew Chris would make a beautiful documentary.
Sandra Abrevaya: I was really hesitant, but it turns out that every time Brian has a great new idea, I get nervous. Then I end up doing it and he ends up saying, “I told you so.” One thing I did know is that Brian and I have real hope that this disease will transform from fatal to chronic and that the more we can open up about our own history and really bring people into our lives, the better we can communicate that message.
Chris, this is a fairly compact and fast-paced film, but also quite informative. What was your approach to shaping the narrative?
Burke: My entry was Brian. I didn't know anything about ALS, as did Brian when he was diagnosed. That's how it starts for a lot of people; I was learning along the way. Brian and Sandra's love story forms the backbone of [the film] but then we had to get people to understand the basics of this disease: what it is, what it does to bodies, what it does to families, what it does to caregivers, and how this movement, led simultaneously by these two, is combating that in such an amazing way.
It seems like a lot to balance.
Burke: Was. We made a very conscious decision to keep it shorter because it's a challenging topic. It is not intended to be a completely in-depth academic study. It's designed to offer many different threads to pull on, all under the umbrella of this personal story of Brian and Sandra, but also of each other. [ALS-affected] families that we present too. We really wanted to highlight cohesive community action from many different people.
Brian, knowing what you know now, what do you say to people with ALS who are also given six months to live?
Wallachian: Don't be afraid and ask for help, because everyone will need help along the way. I also say that today I am more hopeful than when I was diagnosed because we have many treatments in the works. And I know that some of them will help us all live longer and be here to see ALS become a chronic disease.
