Chris Gerolmo's Death for Beginners, in the words of Bruce Feirstein, is "a heart-wrenching, brutally honest, and ultimately cathartic book about losing his wife to cancer... The book makes you stop and think, and even laugh, about the things we take for granted in our lives, and in the lives and departures of our loved ones. From A to Z, it's a soul-searching chronicle of a death foretold that offers hope and sustenance, with a remarkable absence of empty platitudes, for all of us."
Tom Larkin, an impossibly famous rock icon, dies tragically at the hands of a deranged fan--or so the world believes. In reality, Tom narrowly escapes and recuperates in a secret hospital. His loving but imperious wife Katrinka becomes convinced that it's safer for everyone if he stays dead. Reluctantly, Tom agrees to live out his days in obscurity until an old enemy reveals that his life is still in danger.
*The basis for the wonderfully funny and moving TV series developed by Amy Poehler and Scout Productions* A charming, practical, and unsentimental approach to putting a home in order while reflecting on the tiny joys that make up a long life. In Sweden there is a kind of decluttering called döstädning, dö meaning “death” and städning meaning “cleaning.” This surprising and invigorating process of clearing out unnecessary belongings can be undertaken at any age or life stage but should be done sooner than later, before others have to do it for you. In The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, artist Margareta Magnusson, with Scandinavian humor and wisdom, instructs readers to embrace minimalism. Her radical and joyous method for putting things in order helps families broach sensitive conversations, and makes the process uplifting rather than overwhelming. Margareta suggests which possessions you can easily get rid of (unworn clothes, unwanted presents, more plates than you’d ever use) and which you might want to keep (photographs, love letters, a few of your children’s art projects). Digging into her late husband’s tool shed, and her own secret drawer of vices, Margareta introduces an element of fun to a potentially daunting task. Along the way readers get a glimpse into her life in Sweden, and also become more comfortable with the idea of letting go.
Inspired by the website that the New York Times hailed as "redefining mourning," this book is a fresh and irreverent examination into navigating grief and resilience in the age of social media, offering comfort and community for coping with the mess of loss through candid original essays from a variety of voices, accompanied by gorgeous two-color illustrations and wry infographics. At a time when we mourn public figures and national tragedies with hashtags, where intimate posts about loss go viral and we receive automated birthday reminders for dead friends, it’s clear we are navigating new terrain without a road map. Let’s face it: most of us have always had a difficult time talking about death and sharing our grief. We’re awkward and uncertain; we avoid, ignore, or even deny feelings of sadness; we offer platitudes; we send sympathy bouquets whittled out of fruit. Enter Rebecca Soffer and Gabrielle Birkner, who can help us do better. Each having lost parents as young adults, they co-founded Modern Loss, responding to a need to change the dialogue around the messy experience of grief. Now, in this wise and often funny book, they offer the insights of the Modern Loss community to help us cry, laugh, grieve, identify, and—above all—empathize. Soffer and Birkner, along with forty guest contributors including Lucy Kalanithi, singer Amanda Palmer, and CNN’s Brian Stelter, reveal their own stories on a wide range of topics including triggers, sex, secrets, and inheritance. Accompanied by beautiful hand-drawn illustrations and witty "how to" cartoons, each contribution provides a unique perspective on loss as well as a remarkable life-affirming message. Brutally honest and inspiring, Modern Loss invites us to talk intimately and humorously about grief, helping us confront the humanity (and mortality) we all share. Beginners welcome.
Anne Tyler gives us a wise, haunting, and deeply moving new novel in which she explores how a middle-aged man, ripped apart by the death of his wife, is gradually restored by her frequent appearances -- in their house, on the roadway, in the market. Crippled in his right arm and leg, Aaron has spent his childhood fending off a sister who wants to manage him. When he meets Dorothy, a plain, outspoken, independent young woman, she is like a breath of fresh air. Unhesitatingly, he marries her, and they have a relatively happy, unremarkable life together. But when a tree crashes into their house and Dorothy is killed, Aaron feels as though he has been erased forever. Only Dorothy's unexpected appearances from the dead help him to live in the moment and find some peace. Gradually he discovers, as he works in the family's vanity-publishing business, (turning out titles that presume to guide beginners through the trails of life) that maybe for this beginner there is a way of saying goodbye. A beautiful, subtle exploration of loss and recovery, pierced throughout with Anne Tyler's humour, wisdom, and always penetrating look at human foibles.
With efficiency and a touch of humor, this valuable guidebook offers information on the difficult subject of planning for one's own death or organizing funerals for loved ones. Topics ranging from cremation, burial, caskets, services, and organ donation are explored, and each section offers data, definitions, examples, pros and cons, and helpful worksheets for narrowing down the best options. Numerous sidebars that offer engaging and occasionally bizarre facts on the death industry are also included. Emphasizing practicality and frugality, a bevy of money-saving steps are explored, citing that if smart choices are made beforehand then expensive choices made in grief can be avoided. Ideal for the time-constrained, this comprehensive resource presents fast facts in an easy-to-read format, while helpful links for each topic are compiled in an accompanying website. Readers will benefit from the peace of mind that follows the creation of a structured plan to reduce the financial burdens and emotional distress on loved ones left behind.
Zen masters describe ?Beginner?s Mind? as the mental state that can help us face the most severe challenges with flexibility, courage, and integrity. Since we are all destined to be beginners at dying, long-time hospice physician Patrick Clary invites us to embrace the virtues of this status in his new book of poetry, DYING FOR BEGINNERS (Lost Borders Press; October 20, 2006) . Entering this aspect of our inner lives may help us as we seek to be present to others, to fully inhabit ourselves, and to make our own choices as we die.A conscientious objector during the Vietnam War, Patrick Clary first faced issues of death and dying as a medic in an infantry unit. DYING FOR BEGINNERS is not just a collection of poems, but a lyrical memoir of love, life and death in our time, from the Nevada desert to Southeast Asia, from Jonestown, Guyana to big city ER. Through more than 20 years of caring for gravely ill patients and their families Dr. Clary has come to believe that death can be as miraculous as birth, and that living fully is the best preparation for dying well. This is a book of poetry that can help you change your life."Patrick Clary, his compassion combined with fierce attention, sees the dying and schools his own center to make each beginner?s journey into death as gentle as may be. Quaker, Buddhist, Vision Quester, he has condensed his diverse experiences into a book of poetry suitable for mortals, or anyone who loves them".? Donald Hall, Poet Laureate of the United States
Combining Eastern spiritualism with Western science, the founder of the national charity God's Love We Deliver creates an inspiring, practical, and hopeful approach to facing death. Uplifting without being sentimental, Stone explores such important issues as fear and grief, near-death experiences, survival, and preparation for death.
A gang of socially ambitious skinheads run riot through the London art world, plotting the rebirth and violent demise of an elusive avant-garde art movement. Taking genre fiction for a ride, Slow Death uses obscenity, black humor and repetition for the sake of ironic deconstruction. The sleazy sex is always pornographic, and all traditional notions of literary taste and depth are ditched in favor of a transgressive aesthetic inspired by writers as diverse as Home, de Sade, Klaus Theweleit, and 70s cult writer Richard Allen.
