Things Ive Learned from Dying, David R. Dow
Things Ive Learned from Dying, David R. Dow
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Things I've Learned from Dying
A Book About Life

Author: David R. Dow

Narrator: David R. Dow

Unabridged: 7 hr 22 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Twelve

Published: 01/07/2014


Synopsis

National Book Critics Circle Award finalist David R. Dow confronts the reality of his work on death row when his father-in-law is diagnosed with lethal melanoma, his beloved Doberman becomes fatally ill, and his young son begins to comprehend the implications of mortality.
"Every life is different, but every death is the same. We live with others. We die alone."

In his riveting, artfully written memoir The Autobiography of an Execution, David Dow enraptured readers with a searing and frank exploration of his work defending inmates on death row. But when Dow's father-in-law receives his own death sentence in the form of terminal cancer, and his gentle dog Winona suffers acute liver failure, the author is forced to reconcile with death in a far more personal way, both as a son and as a father.
Told through the disparate lenses of the legal battles he's spent a career fighting, and the intimate confrontations with death each family faces at home, Things I've Learned From Dyingoffers a poignant and lyrical account of how illness and loss can ravage a family. Full of grace and intelligence, Dow offers readers hope without cliche and reaffirms our basic human needs for acceptance and love by giving voice to the anguish we all face--as parents, as children, as partners, as friends--when our loved ones die tragically, and far too soon.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Joette on August 12, 2014

Author David Dow is a death penalty lawyer in Texas. He is also just a guy with a family and a job. But he writes about and intertwines his experiences with people (and pets, if you can imagine me reading that) who are about to die in a truly readable and beautiful way. From his clients on death row......more

Goodreads review by Lama on June 21, 2018

Mr. Dow shows through his book "Things I've Learned from Dying" a deep insight into the death regarding a comparison between the dead beings and the ones who have been left alive. This book has taught me how to live with the destiny of death. Through the three chapters of this book, I was amazed at......more

Goodreads review by erin_su_ on January 31, 2019

Things I've Learned from Dying is a memoir written by David R.Dow, who is a death row lawyer. In this book, Dow talks about the inmates and his attempts to save their lives. The main client he focused on was Eddie Waterman. Dow explains the laws of the death sentence in Texas, saying that it is the......more

Goodreads review by Alicia on March 21, 2014

This was such a great book by such a great writer/lawyer/father. There are three stories going on at once but they all weave together gracefully. I would recommend this to anyone that has lost someone to cancer or lost a dog. It's a hard book to finish (because of the tears you will shed) but very r......more

Goodreads review by Niena on October 17, 2021

Setiap kali keluar berita mahkamah menjatuhkan hukuman mati kepada pesalah, atau dokumentari mengenai banduan akhir, saya selalu terbaca komen sebegini di media sosial: "Sekurang-kurangnya dia tahu bila dia akan mati, berbanding kita yang tak tahu bila ajal bakal menjemput." Benarkah? Benarkah memangk......more


Quotes

PRAISE FOR THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN EXECUTION
"David Dow's extraordinary memoir lifts the veil on the real world of representing defendants on death row. It will stay with me a long time."

Jeffrey Toobin, author of The Nine

"Powerful . . . a brilliant, heartrending book."—New York Times Book Review

"His prose is captivating."—Christian Science Monitor

"Chilling . . . authentic and heartfelt . . . He will transfix you."—Los Angeles Times

"A riveting and compelling account of a Texas execution written and narrated by a lawyer in the thick of the last minute chaos. It should be read by all those who support state sponsored killing."—John Grisham, author of The Innocent Man