Things I've Learned from Dying: A Book About Life

by David R. Dow Narrated by David R. Dow

Overview

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.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

★ 11/04/2013
Lawyer Dow (Autobiography of an Execution) eloquently draws us into this gracefully told memoir about his angry and painful struggles to sort out the lessons that death teaches us about living. During the time that Dow is preparing appeals for Waterman, a death row inmate, his father-in-law is diagnosed with cancer, and his family’s beloved dog is found to have an inoperable and ultimately fatal liver tumor. An engaging storyteller, Dow weaves elegantly each person’s story into a colorful and emotionally wrenching narrative that covers his fiercely honest struggle to make sense of life and death. Early on, his father-in-law reflects on the career of his cancer: “The problem is the emotional change the physical pain has caused, and it is too late to do anything about that change.” After an especially trying day working on the Waterman case, Dow expresses his frustrations with the system: “People who think bogus legal proceedings happen only in places like Iran or China apparently have not been to Texas… Anybody who tells you the criminal justice system is an even playing field has no idea what she’s talking about.” Dow’s moving tale leaves us with a tough questions: “Which is better: to be able to circle the date on a calendar five years from today when your life will end? Or to get flattened by a truck crossing the street and never see it coming?” Agent, Simon Lipskar, Writers House. (Jan.)

From the Publisher

"David R. Dow's stories are always compelling. His observations are unflinching and true. Death is a part of daily routine, and in this remarkable book he takes us to the grave and back."—John Grisham

"David Dow is a lawyer who writes like an angel."—Steve Weinberg, Dallas Morning News

"He is a gifted storyteller. And regardless of your opinion on the death penalty, he sounds like good company."—St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Gracefully told.... Dow weaves elegantly each person's story into a colorful and emotionally wrenching narrative that covers his fiercely honest struggle to make sense of life and death."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Dow's lyrically written prose shimmers as he traces life's final moments for his death-row client, father-in-law, and dog Winona. Its exploration of the elusive line between life and death will leave readers speechless."—Library Journal

"Sooner or later, death touches every life. Sometimes, though, it comes in legions. This is the story of a death penalty lawyer from Texas who simultaneously watched his father-in-law die of cancer and defended a convicted murderer who didn't deserve to be executed. Few of us can begin to imagine such a shattering coincidence, and fewer still could ever hope to come to terms with it. But David R. Dow did, and has now written a profoundly poignant, singularly wise memoir of his experience. In the midst of death he was-and is-in life."—Terry Teachout, drama critic, Wall Street Journal

"In clear, powerful prose, David R. Dow reminds us of an essential truth: that human life remains cheap to the state, and for the rest of us, it is precious, momentary, and wholly fulfilling when embraced."—Bryan Mealer, author of Muck City, All Things Must Fight to Live, and the New York Times bestseller The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

"David R. Dow has delivered a profound and penetrating meditation on the end of life-through the deaths of his father-in-law to cancer, a death row inmate he was representing to lethal injection, and his family's beloved dog to liver failure. The writing is clear-eyed and intimate, as he exquisitely weaves the stories of these staggering losses together. Better still, along the way he reveals the lessons for living that come from them."—Dick Lehr, author of Whitey, the Boston Globe bestseller The Fence, and the New York Times bestseller and Edgar Award-winning Black Mass

"In terse, spare prose, David Dow mines the shadows between dying and death, work and family, law and justice, love and pain. A stunning meditation on all the ways in which irreversible endings can make us whole."—Dahlia Lithwick, Supreme Court correspondent, Slate.com

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 Nin

"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

Dahlia Lithwick

"In terse, spare prose, David Dow mines the shadows between dying and death, work and family, law and justice, love and pain. A stunning meditation on all the ways in which irreversible endings can make us whole."

Dick Lehr

"David R. Dow has delivered a profound and penetrating meditation on the end of life-through the deaths of his father-in-law to cancer, a death row inmate he was representing to lethal injection, and his family's beloved dog to liver failure. The writing is clear-eyed and intimate, as he exquisitely weaves the stories of these staggering losses together. Better still, along the way he reveals the lessons for living that come from them."

Bryan Mealer

"In clear, powerful prose, David R. Dow reminds us of an essential truth: that human life remains cheap to the state, and for the rest of us, it is precious, momentary, and wholly fulfilling when embraced."

Terry Teachout

"Sooner or later, death touches every life. Sometimes, though, it comes in legions. This is the story of a death penalty lawyer from Texas who simultaneously watched his father-in-law die of cancer and defended a convicted murderer who didn't deserve to be executed. Few of us can begin to imagine such a shattering coincidence, and fewer still could ever hope to come to terms with it. But David R. Dow did, and has now written a profoundly poignant, singularly wise memoir of his experience. In the midst of death he was-and is-in life."

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"He is a gifted storyteller. And regardless of your opinion on the death penalty, he sounds like good company."

Steve Weinberg

"David Dow is a lawyer who writes like an angel."

Kirkus Reviews

2013-11-03
A memoir examining the complicated nature of death. Although death-row defense lawyer Dow (Houston Law Center; The Autobiography of an Execution, 2011) is no stranger to the throes of death, when the Grim Reaper knocked on his own family's door, the reality of the situation hit much harder. Thoughtful and full of a pensive sadness, the author intertwines the difficulties of his work, of trying to save a model inmate destined for execution, with reflections, memories and conversations with his dying father-in-law and the painful process of watching his beloved dog, Winona, die. "Time does not heal all wounds," writes the author. "Some pain becomes part of who you are." His pain, born of a profound love for his family and pet, cascaded over into Dow's work, where the need to save a life, regardless of the crime committed, has forced him to try any measure to stay the execution. Meanwhile, his father-in-law struggled with the physical and emotional realities of suffering from a terminal disease and the desire to live life in his own way while trying to juggle the needs of a devoted wife and daughter. The final piece to the triplet of death fell into place when the elderly Winona suffered acute liver failure. The pace of the writing is slow and steady, inexorably moving toward predetermined and unavoidable conclusions. No amount of heroics on the parts of Dow to save the inmate, the doctors to save his father-in-law and friend, or the vet to help the dog can change the outcomes. Hope, love, anger, guilt and despair are some of the emotional waves the author faces head-on and presents to readers in a moving testimony to the will to live. "Our lives end before others notice," writes Dow, "and the time that spans the distance is the inverse of the grief your loved ones will suffer when you leave them behind." Sad and inspiring reflections of what it means to live, love and die.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170234769
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	01/07/2014
Edition description:	Unabridged

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