Tammy M. (Tamsbooks) reviewed on 3/13/2011 + 39 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

This humorous and immensely informative book follows the human life from birth to death. Told with self-deprecating humor, Shields frames the book both within his own middle-age ascendency along with his aged father who for so long seemed to defy the odds of dying.

Reading this book I often felt a sense of voyeurism, looking with morbid fascination at my own disturbing future unfolding before my eyes. Truly, it is not death I fear, but the dying. This book did little to disconfirm that fear; it only brought to light the gory details. Shields, however, only describes the physical failings scheduled into the aging process. For me, such an account reinforces the deep desire to live life truly lived well in spite of and because of the valley of the shadow lying ahead. As the psalmist wrote, My flesh and heart may fail me... BUT...

The rest of the psalm is full of hope. Momento Mori, but Carpe Diem. Aaah... those Latin blokes are full of wisdom.

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