With piercing insight and stark prose, darin strauss leads us on a deeply personal, immediate, and emotional journeygraduating high school, going away to college, starting his writing career, falling in love with his future wife, becoming a father. His book, half a life, recounts what it has been like to spend more than 20 years atoning for a tragic incident, summed up succinctly in the opening line of the memoir. The books artful design caught my eye before i even began reading. But spare a thought for american writer darin strauss, whose life was changed abruptly when he was just 18 and a month away from highschool graduation. But the book is more than simply brave, it is a searingly selfdisciplined work of literature, and of selfexamination. In his last month of high school, he was behind the wheel of his dads oldsmobile, driving with friends, heading off to play minigolf. Darin strauss, half a life darin strauss half a life is an incredible book. Half a life, a beyondbrave memoir by darin strauss, offers an intensely personal look at the most agonizing events in the authors life after a tragic accident. Half a life is a book by american author darin strauss. Its the punch of the first sentence in darin strausss memoir, half a life, which left me wideeyed and eager to keep reading. That you are a self, that beyond anything else you want the best for that self. Half a life is a starkly honest account of that fateful moment and his life thereafter.
Darin strauss killed a girl with his car when he was eighteen years old. In his last month of high school, he was behind the wheel of his dads oldsmobile, driving with friends, heading off to. Half a life is a nakedly honest, ultimately hopeful examination of guilt, responsibility, and living with the past. Half his life ago, when darin strauss was a teenager on his way to play minigolf with a car full of friends, with little more on his mind than graduation and maybe a day at the beach, a lifechanging event occurred. Half a life by darin strauss teachers guide books on tape. The police assured him there was nothing he could have done to avoid hitting celines swerving bike, but for half his life strauss has. We follow strauss as he half a life is a nakedly honest, ultimately hopeful examination of guilt, responsibility, and living with the past. Book half a life darin strauss darin strauss born march 1. Darin strauss is a critically acclaimed author of three novels, but his latest book is a memoir delving into the true story underlying all his fiction, his involvement in the death of a high school classmate and the psychological aftermath. Read free book excerpt from half a life by darin strauss, page 1 of 4. So begins acclaimed novelist darin strauss half a life, the true story of how one outing in his fathers oldsmobile resulted in the death of a classmate and the beginning of a different, darker life for the author. For the novelist darin strauss, life changed irrevocably years ago with the accidental death of a high school classmate. Todays post is one of the rare ones that discusses a book ive read.
Darin strauss half a life darin strauss thank you utterly much for downloading half a life darin strauss. Half a life is darin strausss awardwinning memoir about the tragic event that changed the trajectory of his life. We trudge through strausss life as he wrestles with how to cope with this accident. If youd like to hear some excerpts, you can listen to an npr podcast here. A memoir by strauss, darin and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. I had just turned eighteen, and when you drive in new postadolescence, you drive with friends.
Half a life palm beach county library system overdrive. Darin strauss born march 1, 1970 is a bestselling american writer whose work has earned a number of awards, including, among numerous others, a guggenheim fellowship and the national book critics circle award. Half a life by darin strauss first christian church. So begins darin strauss half a life, the true story of how one outing in his fathers oldsmobile resulted in the death of a classmate and the beginning of a. Half his life ago, when darin strauss was a teenager on his way to play minigolf with a car full of friends, with little more on his mind than graduation and maybe. Darin strausss half a life is impossible to put down. T his is the story of two cars, moving at the same speed, that killed two people. Colson whitehead, author of the nickel boys this indelible romance begins with a daring conceitthat the authors. Published in 2010 by mcsweeney s, the autobiographical story expands upon the this american life podcast episode life after death where strauss publicly discusses the emotional repercussions of being responsible for the accidental death of a young woman. Half a life by darin strauss pdf free download ebook. Darin strauss i was surprisedbut pleasedwhen darin strausss memoir half a life recently won the 2011 national book critics circle award for. How do you go back to school after killing a classmate, even though it was an accident. Strauss the real mccoy readily acknowledges the problems of writing about this event, the result of a moments d.
Today i share some thoughts i have after reading darin strausss memoir half a life. Darin strausss sad and somber gift to others from his suffering. The washington post a book that inspires admiration, sentence by sentence. Published in 2010 by mcsweeneys, the autobiographical story expands upon the this american life podcast episode life after death where strauss publicly discusses the emotional repercussions of being responsible for the. In his devastating new memoir, half a life, darin strauss tells of how an accidental death in his teens changed his life forever. In this case, however, the central character is not merely frustrated in his efforts to attain a particular goal. Strausss most recent book is half a life, which won the 2011 nbcc award for memoirautobiography. Half a life is another of naipauls stories of alienation. Half a life, a foray into memoir by novelist darin strauss, centers on a tragic accident in the authors life. Excerpted from half a life by darin strauss excerpted by. Darin strausss memoir half a life tells the story of his accident, at age 18, with a girl biking on a road near his home in long island. At eighteen, strauss was driving his fathers oldsmobile when his highschool classmate, sixteenyearold celine zilke, made a crisp turn on her bicycle, from the bike lane, into the fourlane. Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing.
Half a life by darin strauss, interview the daily beast. Darin strauss has spent a good part of his adult life reliving, regretting and reflecting on a single, splitsecond incident. Half a life darin strauss book summary and analysis ryan heider. This item will ship to united states, but the seller has not specified shipping options. Celine zilke, the girl on the bike, was sixteen and always will be sixteen. Half a life is an unusually honest, thoughtful and unsettling memoir, which readers and critics are destined to call bravefor it is brave. A gorgeous, technicolor take on america in the middle of the twentieth century. In this powerful, unforgettable memoir, acclaimed novelist darin strauss examines the farreaching consequences of the tragic moment that.
So begins darin strauss half a life, the true story of how one outing in his fathers oldsmobile resulted in the death of a classmate and the beginning of a different, darker life for the author. Half a life is darin strauss s awardwinning memoir about the tragic event that changed the trajectory of his life. Every personal story begs to be steered toward reverie, toward some relief from unpleasant truths. The book won the national book critics circle award. We follow strauss as he explores his startling pastcollision, funeral, the queasy drama of a highstakes court caseand what starts as a personal. Even though he was not responsible for the girls death, strauss struggled with guilt. This tragedy would haunt strauss for the rest of his life. The book includes his ability, or inability, to cope with what happened. It received the national book critics circle award for memoir in 2011. Darin strauss half a life hardcover san francisco mcsweeneys 2010 near fine in boards. Most likely you have knowledge that, people have look numerous period for their favorite books once this half a life darin strauss, but stop taking place in harmful downloads. When he was a teenager, a girl he knew from school swerved into his lane on her bike as he was driving. A memoir about guilt, responsibility, and living with the past. Some eighteen years later, darin strauss wrote half a life, about the event that happened half a life ago.
Darin strauss does not permit himself even one sentence, even one moment, of lazy thinking, or mitigating excuses. So begins darin strauss half a life, the true story of how one outing in his fathers car resulted in the death of a classmate and the. Half a life is the story of how, when he was a senior in high school, strauss was driving his dads oldsmobile when a girl he barely knew, a junior at the same school, inexplicably swerved her bike across two lanes, collided with his car, and was killed. In this powerful, unforgettable memoir, acclaimed novelist darin strauss examines the farreaching consequences of the tragic moment that has shadowed his whole life. Half a life a memoir by darin strauss author darin strauss narrator. When darin strauss was 18 years old, a month before his high school graduation, he was driving some friends to the miniature golf course. So begins darin strauss half a life, the true story of how one high school outing in his fathers oldsmobile resulted in the tragic. Half a life darin strauss book summary and analysis. Everybody wants life to speak to them with special kindness. Darin strauss joins me in the studio to talk about his new book, its titled half a life. Ive previously written about dani shapiros devotion and katie rosmans if you knew suzy. Half a life npr coverage of half a life by darin strauss. Half a life in this powerful, unforgettable memoir, acclaimed novelist darin strauss examines the farreaching consequences of the tragic moment that has shadowed his whole life.