wp-1591382699179.jpgWelcome to my stop on the How to Survive Death and Other Inconveniences blog tour sponsored by Suzy Approved Book Tours! Thank you to Suzy for the invitation!

About the Book:

Many are haunted and obsessed by their own eventual deaths, but perhaps no one as much as Sue William Silverman. This thematically linked collection of essays charts Silverman’s attempt to confront her fears of that ultimate unknown. Her dread was fomented in part by a sexual assault, hidden for years, that led to an awareness that death and sex are in some ways inextricable, an everyday reality many women know too well.

Through gallows humor, vivid realism, and fantastical speculation, How to Survive Death and Other Inconveniences explores this fear of death and the author’s desire to survive it. From cruising New Jersey’s industry-blighted landscape in a gold Plymouth to visiting the emergency room for maladies both real and imagined to suffering the stifling strictness of an intractable piano teacher, Silverman guards her memories for the same reason she resurrects archaic words—to use as talismans to ward off the inevitable. Ultimately, Silverman knows there is no way to survive death physically. Still, through language, commemoration, and metaphor, she searches for a sliver of transcendent immortality.

My Thoughts:

Do you ever fear your own death? Sue William Silverman does, and so much so, you might say she’s obsessed with it.

Silverman was sexually assaulted, and many of her fears are fed by experience. In a series of essays peppered with insight and humor, Silverman confronts her biggest fear head on.

In more ways than I can list, Silverman is a survivor. If you’ve ever thought you might be a hypochondriac, or just that you worry too much about your own inevitable death, there’s so much reassurance and insight here.

It’s beautifully-written and it helps us confront that taboo subject we don’t like to talk about but we NEED to talk about. Don’t worry- it’s not all about death. It also covers love and loss and has hope and humor in it as well to add some balance. Overall, it’s hard to describe but easy to read.

I received a gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

About the Author:

Sue William Silverman’s forthcoming memoir is HOW TO SURVIVE DEATH and OTHER INCONVENIENCES (University of Nebraska Press, March 2020). Her previous memoirs are THE PAT BOONE FAN CLUB: MY LIFE AS A WHITE ANGLO-SAXON JEW (University of Nebraska Press); LOVE SICK: ONE WOMAN’S JOURNEY THROUGH SEXUAL ADDICTION (W.W. Norton), which aired as a Lifetime Television original movie, and BECAUSE I REMEMBER TERROR, FATHER, I REMEMBER YOU (University of Georgia Press), which won the AWP award in creative nonfiction. Her craft book is FEARLESS CONFESSIONS: A WRITER’S GUIDE TO MEMOIR, and her poetry collections are IF THE GIRL NEVER LEARNS (Brick Mantel Books) and HIEROGLYPHICS IN NEON (Orchises Press). As a professional speaker she has appeared on “The View,” “Anderson Cooper-360,” “CNN-Headline News,” the Montel Williams Show, and the Discovery Channel. She teaches in the MFA in Writing program at the Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Have you read How to Survive Death and Other Inconveniences, or is it on your TBR? Happy Reading! ~ Jennifer THR