The Death Of Things

A comprehensive study of ephemera in twentieth-century literature—and its relevance to the twenty-first century “Nothing ever really disappears from the internet” has become a common warning of the digital age. But the twentieth century was filled with ephemera—items that were designed to disappear forever—and these objects played crucial roles in some of that century’s greatest works of literature. In The Death of Things, author Sarah Wasserman delivers the first comprehensive study addressing the role ephemera played in twentieth-century fiction and its relevance to contemporary digital culture. Representing the experience of perpetual change and loss, ephemera was central to great works by major novelists like Don DeLillo, Ralph Ellison, and Marilynne Robinson. Following the lives and deaths of objects, Wasserman imagines new uses of urban space, new forms of visibility for marginalized groups, and new conceptions of the marginal itself. She also inquires into present-day conundrums: our fascination with the durable, our concerns with the digital, and our curiosity about what new fictional narratives have to say about deletion and preservation. The Death of Things offers readers fascinating, original angles on how objects shape our world. Creating an alternate literary history of the twentieth century, Wasserman delivers an insightful and idiosyncratic journey through objects that were once vital but are now forgotten.

Even though he’s only ten years old, there are lots of things Arthur Williams knows for sure. He knows all about trilobites, and bridge, and that he doesn’t want to be Victoria Brown’s boyfriend, and that tapping maple trees causes them excruciating pain. He knows his real dad is probably flying a hot-air balloon across the Pacific, or paving a city with moss. And he knows that Simon, the guy who pretends to be his dad, does absolutely nothing interesting. But when Arthur finds a weather-worn notebook in the woods behind his house, all he has are questions. Why was its author, Phil, so sad, and why does it end on Page 43? Suddenly, there are other questions too: Why do people abandon people? Why do they abandon themselves? Arthur embarks on a top-secret investigation to find out who Phil is, or was. But getting straight answers from grown-ups is impossible - and before long, the only thing he knows for sure is that everything he thought he knew about life is probably wrong, and that what he has to do is ten times bigger than what he can do. Told through a trio of voices: the wildly imaginative and perpetually awkward Arthur, Phil’s manic journal, and the forest which watches them both, Ben Stephenson’s debut novel is a heartbreaking story of love, death, and the unspeakable pain of being small. A Matter of Life and Death Or Something marks the exciting debut of an inventive and gifted storyteller.

Revised edition of the best-selling memoir that has been read by over a million people worldwide with translations in 29 languages. After too many years of unfulfilling work, Bronnie Ware began searching for a job with heart. Despite having no formal qualifications or previous experience in the field, she found herself working in palliative care. During the time she spent tending to those who were dying, Bronnie's life was transformed. Later, she wrote an Internet blog post, outlining the most common regrets that the people she had cared for had expressed. The post gained so much momentum that it was viewed by more than three million readers worldwide in its first year. At the request of many, Bronnie subsequently wrote a book, The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, to share her story. Bronnie has had a colourful and diverse life. By applying the lessons of those nearing their death to her own life, she developed an understanding that it is possible for everyone, if we make the right choices, to die with peace of mind. In this revised edition of the best-selling memoir that has been read by over a million people worldwide, with translations in 29 languages, Bronnie expresses how significant these regrets are and how we can positively address these issues while we still have the time. The Top Five Regrets of the Dying gives hope for a better world. It is a courageous, life-changing book that will leave you feeling more compassionate and inspired to live the life you are truly here to live.

Lie. Cheat. Bargain. Fight. Accept. Bribe. Conquer. Evade. No matter what humanity tries, Death always wins. Or does it? Discover the answer in The Death of All Things, where twenty-one writers take their shot at the Grim Reaper with explorations of the mythical, fantastical, and futuristic bonds between life and death. Learn the cost of mortality, the perils—and joys—of the afterlife, and the potential pitfalls of immortality... Featuring stories from: K. M. Laney, Andrea Mullen, Faith Hunter, Kendra Leigh Speedling, Jason M. Hough, Julie Pitzel, Shaun Avery, Christie Golden, Leah Cutter, Aliette de Bodard, Andrew Dunlop, A. Merc Rustad, Ville Meriläinen, Amanda Kespohl, Mack Moyer, Fran Wilde, Kathryn McBride, Andrija Popovic, Jim C. Hines, Stephen Blackmoore, and Kiya Nicoll.

'Extraordinary. It is about death, but I can think of few books which have such life. It shows us what love is.' Max Porter, author of Grief is the Thing With Feathers and Lanny 'There is no one quite like Naja Marie Aidt' Valeria Luiselli 'Devastating, angry, challenging, fragmented and filled with the beautiful hope that the love we have for people continues into the world even after they're gone.' Culturefly 'Fragmented, poetic, informative and truthful, Aidt faces the greatest loss we can ever know with all the force of great elegy writers like Anne Carson and Denise Riley. Essential.' Polly Clark, author of Larchfield and Tiger _______ "I raise my glass to my eldest son. His pregnant wife and daughter are sleeping above us. Outside, the March evening is cold and clear. 'To life!' I say as the glasses clink with a delicate and pleasing sound. My mother says something to the dog. Then the phone rings. We don't answer it. Who could be calling so late on a Saturday evening?" In March 2015, Naja Marie Aidt's 25-year-old son, Carl, died in a tragic accident. When Death Takes Something From You Give It Back is about losing a child. It is about formulating a vocabulary to express the deepest kind of pain. And it's about finding a way to write about a reality invaded by grief, lessened by loss. Faced with the sudden emptiness of language, Naja finds solace in the anguish of Joan Didion, Nick Cave, C.S. Lewis, Mallarmé, Plato and other writers who have suffered the deadening impact of loss. Their torment suffuses with her own as Naja wrestles with words and contests their capacity to speak for the depths of her sorrow. This palimpsest of mourning enables Naja to turn over the pathetic, precious transience of existence and articulates her greatest fear: to forget. The insistent compulsion to reconstruct the harrowing aftermath of Carl's death keeps him painfully present, while fragmented memories, journal entries and poetry inch her closer to piecing Carl's life together. Intensely moving and quietly devastating, this is what is it to be a family, what it is to love and lose, and what it is to treasure life in spite of death's indomitable resolve.

Just where is the intersection between spirituality and medicine? Life and Death and the Things in Between is a collection of ten stories documenting the struggles and strengths of the human spirit as it searches for meaning amid challenging circumstances. The stories reveal the psychological and emotional experiences of people in Dr. Arty's milieu who are besieged by profound life-changing events and circumstances, such as severe mental illness, addiction, terminal illness, and personal loss. They are stories of love and courage, and of trauma and suffering. Most of all, they are stories of compassion and hope. Being a psychiatrist of Haitian origin working in Brooklyn, New York, Dr. Arty has incorporated his heritage and culture into several of the stories--some of which are written within the frame of a medical illness. The publication of this book is a new proof of Dr. Arty's determination to share his rich experience with other human beings. There is no doubt that the readers will see this book as an invitation to remain compassionate and courageous in the worst times of adversity. E.F.ThEbaud, M.D., Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, SUNY Downstate Medical Center "In his series of short stories adapted from his personal experiences or that of his patients, Pierre vividly weaves an intricate web of each character's story. His depiction of each story is more enthralling than the other..." Mary Pender Greene, LCSW-R, Psychotherapist/Author, President and CEO of MPG Consulting "These are stories of the mentally ill and the disenfranchised, of immigrants and the down and out--stories of life and death, faith, hope, and love. They are stories that touch our hearts with their humanity and their reflection of the human condition..." T.L. Max McMillen, ELS, Editor-in-Chief, leaflet, a literary and visual arts magazine, and Senior Editor, The Permanente Journal

Natalie’s near death experience when her truck was hit with a roadside bomb in Iraq. She recalls the entire spirit side experience as they repair her body so she could live.

For Norman Price, in the midst of his own crisis, the financial crisis was a distraction signifying there were no longer any essential truths, no longer a beginning, middle, or end to events; a realization that eclipsed, among other things, the passing of his parents. Chicago, 2008. In the wake of cataclysmic events – both personal and international – Norman Price decides it's time for a new existence. But when a couple of bombshells are dropped onto his tentative new path, Norman's New Existence is suddenly threatened by past secrets. Michael Collins takes post 9/11 America as the background for a deeply moving novel about the fragility of humanity.