Against Death is an anthology of creative non-fiction exploring the psychological shifts that occur when we prematurely or unexpectedly confront death. Against Death is a natural outgrowth of the editor's experience of surviving a vertebral artery dissection and stroke and the subsequent writing of a long poem memoir about the event. To be against something can mean two different things at the same time. Against can mean pressed up close to something, yet it can also signify refusal. These texts deal with the affects of this proximity, taking into account any meaning of the word. Rather than showcase only extreme survival stories or difficult biological situations, the pieces in Against Death consider the ways we make sense of death on a personal level and how we integrate that thinking as we continue forward. Against Death articulates the personal experiences of each author's near-deathness, utilizing fresh and inventive language to represent what magical thinking proposes. These pieces are incisive and articulate, avoiding the usual platitudes, feel-good bromides, and pep talks associated with near-death encounters. The writing moves past the sob story and confronts the tough circumstance of facing death with truth and compassion, no matter how ugly or (in)convenient.
Authors
Related Organizations
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Description conventions
- rda
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- 814/.60803548
- Dewey Decimal Edition Number
- 23
- Distributor
- Canadian Electronic Library (Firm),
- General Note
- Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
- ISBN
- 9781772141276 9781772141603
- LCCN
- PN6268.D35
- LCCN Item number
- A33 2019eb
- Modifying agency
- CaBNVSL
- Original cataloging agency
- CaBNVSL
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (352 pages)
- Published in
- Ottawa, Ontario
- Publisher or Distributor Number
- CaOOCEL
- Rights
- Access restricted to authorized users and institutions
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)thg00980370 (OCoLC)1143644597 (CaOOCEL)480274
- System Details Note
- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Title proper/short title
- 35 essays on living Thiry-five essays on living
- Transcribing agency
- CaBNVSL
Table of Contents
- Cover 1
- Title Page 5
- Copyright Page 6
- TABLE OF CONTENTS 9
- Elee Kraljii Gardiner, Origins 11
- Kiera Miller, An Introduction 21
- Susan Cormier, Once Upon a Holly Tree 23
- Adrian M. Zytkoskee, The Things She Left Behind 35
- Kerri Power, Untethered 42
- Amanda Earl, After Survival 55
- Moira MacDougall, Mapping Resilience 65
- Joe Average, How to Make Art Out of This 73
- Jennie Chantal Duguay, It’s in My Head: A Resurrection Story 84
- Rebecca Fredrickson, An Expectant Dissembler Tours Tijuana 91
- Becky Blake, The Reboot Diary 100
- Kateri Lanthier, Lifelines: Of Heart, Lungs, Blood, and Ghazals 112
- Ben Gallagher, Full Belly, Empty Sky: Death and Parenthood 125
- Aislinn Hunter, The Story 134
- C. M. Faulkner, Autopsy 141
- Maureen Medved, The Golden Circles 154
- Emma Smith-Stevens, Let This Be Familiar 167
- Fiona Tinwei Lam, Waves 173
- Harry Langen, The Stars Are Strangers 183
- Susan Briscoe, On Work and Terminal Illness 186
- angela rawlings, Tears: Grief Ritual 190
- Jane Mellor, When Earth Is Unveiled 199
- Jessica Michalofsky, Goodnight Stars, Goodnight Air 209
- Jennifer Van Evra, Unlucky Luck 221
- John Asfour, On Writing and Becoming a Reader 232
- Rachel Rose, Eye of the Storm 245
- Rabi Qureshi, Three Times 251
- Nikki Reimer, Gently Fondling the Nylon-tipped Sticks of Death 258
- Laurie Lewis, Qwerty 273
- Bruce Meyer, Sweet River of Red 281
- Jill Yonit Goldberg, Death’s Long Embrace 290
- Sarah Lyn Eaton, When Something Awful Happened 302
- Tanis MacDonald, Twenty-Five Aprils in the Post-Mortem Bar 313
- Vera Constantineau, Options 328
- Lisa Neighbour, The School of Possibility: Living and Creating After Surviving 333
- Acknowledgments 347
- Contributors 349
