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The thing about life is that one day you'll be dead

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"David Shields has accomplished something here so pure and wide in its implications that I almost think of it as a secular, unsentimental Kahlil Gibran: a textbook for the acceptance of our fate on earth."--Jonathan Lethem. Mesmerized -- at times unnerved -- by his ninety-seven-year-old father's nea...

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Main Author: Shields, David, 1956-
Other Authors: Leslie, Don
Format: Audiobooks eAudiobook Downloads eAudiobook
Language:English
Published: [New York] : Books on Tape, 2008.
Subjects:
Shields, David, > 1956-
Shields, David, > 1956- > Family.
Authors, American > 20th century > Biography.
Authors, American > 20th century > Family relationships.
Fathers and sons > United States.
Downloadable audio books.
Online Access:Go to Downloadable Audiobook Here
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Summary:"David Shields has accomplished something here so pure and wide in its implications that I almost think of it as a secular, unsentimental Kahlil Gibran: a textbook for the acceptance of our fate on earth."--Jonathan Lethem. Mesmerized -- at times unnerved -- by his ninety-seven-year-old father's nearly superhuman vitality and optimism, David Shields undertakes an investigation of the human physical condition. The result is this exhilarating book: both a personal meditation on mortality and an exploration of flesh-and-blood existence from crib to oblivion -- an exploration that paradoxically prompts a renewed and profound appreciation of life. Shields begins with the facts of birth and childhood, expertly weaving in anecdotal information about himself and his father. As the book proceeds through adolescence, middle age, old age, he juxtaposes biological details with bits of philosophical speculation, cultural history and criticism, and quotations from a wide range of writers and thinkers -- from Lucretius to Woody Allen -- wielding a magical whole: the universal story of our bodily being, a tender and often hilarious portrait of one family. A book of extraordinary depth and resonance, THE THING ABOUT LIFE IS THAT ONE DAY YOU'LL BE DEAD will move readers to contemplate the brevity and radiance of their own sojourn on earth and challenge them to rearrange their thinking in unexpected and crucial ways.
Item Description:Downloadable audio file.
Title from: Title details screen.
Unabridged.
Duration: 6:40:20.
Playing Time:06:40:20
Format:Requires OverDrive Media Console (file size: 95894 KB).
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
ISBN:9781415947180
141594718X
Author Notes:David Shields was born in Los Angeles, California on July 22, 1956. He received a bachelor's degree in English literature from Brown University in 1978 and an MFA in fiction from the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop in 1980. He writes both fiction and nonfiction books. His first novel, Heroes, was published in 1984. His other works include Black Planet: Facing Race during an NBA Season, The Thing About Life Is That One Day You'll Be Dead, Reality Hunger: A Manifesto, How Literature Saved My Life, and Other People: Takes & Mistakes. Remote: Reflections on Life in the Shadow of Celebrity won the PEN/Revson Award and Dead Languages won the PEN Syndicated Fiction Award. He is the Milliman Distinguished Writer-in-Residence at the University of Washington.

(Bowker Author Biography)

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