Strausss most recent book is half a life, which won the 2011 nbcc award. Strausss parents are quite present in the early part of the book. T his is the story of two cars, moving at the same speed, that. 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. When a book cover foretells that the story inside will be the bravest. The recipient of a guggenheim in fiction writing and numerous other awards, strauss has seen his work translated into fourteen languages and published in more than twenty countries. The books artful design caught my eye before i even began reading. I had just turned eighteen, and when you drive in new postadolescence, you drive with friends. A memoir by darin strauss 2011, paperback at the best online prices at ebay.
Fairly or not, books with the mcsweeneys imprimatur come with certain expectations. In his last month of high school, he was behind the wheel of his dads oldsmobile. Half a life memoir jump to navigation jump to search. In this powerful, unforgettable memoir, acclaimed novelist darin strauss examines the farreaching consequences of the tragic moment that has shadowed his whole life. 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. Darin strauss, author of more than it hurts you, will discuss and sign his heartbreaking memoir about how one outing in his fathers oldsmobile during his last month of high school resulted in the death of a classmate and the beginning of a different, darker life for the author. Sep, 2010 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. Buy a cheap copy of half a life book by darin strauss. It is impossible not to think of this moment, which appears once at the beginning and again near the end of the novel, when reading strauss s new memoir, half a life. The highlight reel of author darin strauss s life so far includes a few defining dates. Sep 19, 2010 i read half a life this morning, grateful for every whitesteeped page. Like the part of the brain that isnt automatic is an imagining machine, feeling all possibilities of feelings. New york times notable books author and brooklyn resident darin strauss, who wrote parts of his sobering memoir half a life at the bluffton library, is finding that his words have the power to bring sense out of tragedy. Is the hard hitting and instant opening line of darin strauss s autobiographical account of the events that took place back in may 1988 on a road on long island.
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. Ive just read half a life, darin strauss book about an event in his life when he was still a boy, but driving, that would shape forever the man he would and could become. Strauss the real mccoy readily acknowledges the problems. Do you think it has a message for people beyond the narrow, carcash one. The instructions by levin both books published by mcsweeneys. Half a life sits now, on my shelf, beside gail caldwells lets take the long way hometwo memoirs that transcend precisely because they are so quiet, so well considered, so honorable. Half a life, a foray into memoir by novelist darin strauss, centers on a. The washington post wrote that half a life has a universal appeal, calling it a penetrating, thoughtprovoking examination of the human mind. Today i share some thoughts i have after reading darin strauss s memoir half a life. Darin strausspreestablished and muchpraised novelist though he islives both up and down to those expectations in half a life, an honest but fatally selfquestioning memoir on the years of fallout from the accidental killing of his highschool senioryear classmate.
We follow strauss as he explores his startling pastcollision life the funeral, the queasy drama of a highstakes court case. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. 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. Half a life by darin strauss book cover, description, publication history. Half a life by strauss, darin and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Stream and download audiobooks to your computer, tablet or mobile phone. The washington post a book that inspires admiration, sentence by sentence. In this powerful, unforgettable memoir, acclaimed novelist darin strauss examines the farreaching consequences of the tragic moment that has shadowed his whole. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading half a life. In this powerful, unforgettable memoir, acclaimed novelist darin strauss examines the farreaching consequences of the tragic moment that has shadowed his. Half a life by darin strauss, signed abebooks passion for books. Bestselling author darin strauss will speak about and sign his critically acclaimed memoir, now out in paperback, half a life. Half a life is a nakedly honest, ultimately hopeful examination of gui. A memoir about guilt, responsibility, and living with the past darin strausss half a life is impossible to put down.
About 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. More than 20 years ago, darin strauss killed a girl. Half a life is darin strausss awardwinning memoir about the tragic event that changed the trajectory of his life. Half a life is a book by american author darin strauss. It is, as you must have heard by now, the story of an accidental deaththe story of what happened one day when strauss set out to play some putt putt with his high school friends. Acclaimed writer benjamin anastass searing, utterly moving memoir of fathers and sons, crushing debt. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read half a life. Half a life after he killed a girl riding her bike with his car as a teenager, the author delves into the meaning and consequences of that fateful day, and all the culpability, anguish, and regret. 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. Darin strauss has 20 books on goodreads with 18307 ratings. Bookclub on bbc 6 music, with nemone and ali catterall, 15th february 2011. Half a life by darin strauss, interview the daily beast.
It received the national book critics circle award for memoir in 2011. Darin strauss is the bestselling author of three previous books. These books, along with rahna reiko rizzutos hiroshima in the morning, give me hope that memoir, the form, is finding its center again. Strauss the real mccoy readily acknowledges the problems of writing about this event, the result of a moments distractiontrying to avoid aestheticizing reality, questioning his own selfinvolvement, admitting to playing a role of contrition, even remarking that tragedy turns a life into an endless publicity tour, a. For the novelist darin strauss, life changed irrevocably years ago with the accidental death of a high school classmate. Strauss has a number of scenes him chatting up girls at the accident site. 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. Strauss s most recent book is half a life, which won the 2011 nbcc award for memoirautobiography.
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 accidental death of a young woman. In this powerful, unforgettable memoir, acclaimed novelist darin strauss examines the. Do you think this makes him less likeable, or more so. Is the hard hitting and instant opening line of darin strauss s autobiographical account of the events that took place back in may 1988 on a. Half a life is a starkly honest account of that fateful moment and his life thereafter. With half a life, strauss treats difficult subject matter sure to provoke an emotional response, but the book is ultimately as uplifting as it is educational. You struggle against that push, and start to feel your stomach protest. Jan, 2012 todays post is one of the rare ones that discusses a book ive read.
We follow strauss as he half a life is a nakedly honest, ultimately hopeful examination of guilt, responsibility, and living with the past. Ive previously written about dani shapiros devotion and katie rosmans if you knew suzy. 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. Apr 27, 2011 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.
Online shopping from a great selection at books store. Darin strauss has spent a good part of his adult life reliving, regretting and reflecting on a single, splitsecond incident. Jul 14, 2017 in his devastating new memoir, half a life, darin strauss tells of how an accidental death in his teens changed his life forever. 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 memoir, strauss writes about how half a life ago he accidentally killed a woman and how it effected him for the rest of his life.