Michael Sims, author of Apollo’s Fire and member of the Science Writing panel at the Virginia Festival of the Book, had a book review published in this past Sunday’s Washington Post Book World. He covered two new books on the topic of death and dying: Irving Yalom‘s Staring at the Sun, and David Shields‘ The Thing About Life is that One Day You’ll be Dead. (Be sure to check out Shields’ site — its splash page is quite splashy.)
I’ve been a big fan of Yalom’s since my grad school days, so I was glad to see that his newest book holds true to form:
Staring at the Sun is neither textbook nor mere self-help. Philosophical it is, but never arid with theory. Its lively chapters are populated with patients whose raw angst Yalom refines into vignettes that are always enlightening and often quite moving. “Death has a long reach,” he writes, “with an impact that is often concealed.” He calls anxiety about death the mother of religion, but says his own work is “rooted in a secular, existential worldview that rejects supernatural beliefs.” With convincing examples, he argues that awareness of mortality “may serve as an awakening experience, a profoundly useful catalyst for major life changes.”
As for The Thing About Life…not so much of a thumb-up from Sims:
Apparently, Shields began this book with the laudable ambition of portraying his own life against the hard facts of existence that we all share. But, as it stands, The Thing About Life reads like two or three manuscripts shuffled into a single volume. It’s a shame because the personal-memoir pages are vivid and powerful.
Ah, well. Sims’ appreciation for Yalom makes me all the more eager to dive into Apollo’s Fire. I believe it just moved to the top of my TBR stack.
Filed under: authors, books, charlottesville, psychology, reading, science, VABook08, virginia Tagged: | Apollo's Fire, David Shields, death and dying, Irving Yalom, Michael Sims, Staring at the Sun, The Thing About Life is that One Day You'll be Dead, VABook08
