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Title details for Death Need Not Be Fatal by Malachy McCourt - Available

Death Need Not Be Fatal

by Malachy McCourt
Brian McDonald
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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Before he runs out of time, Irish bon vivant Malachy McCourt shares his views on death - sometimes hilarious and often poignant - and on what will or won't happen after his last breath is drawn.
During the course of his life, Malachy McCourt practically invented the single's bar; was a pioneer in talk radio, a soap opera star, a best-selling author; a gold smuggler, a political activist, and a candidate for governor of the state of New York.
It seems that the only two things he hasn't done are stick his head into a lion's mouth and die. Since he is allergic to cats, he decided to write about the great hereafter and answer the question on most minds: What's so great about it anyhow?
In Death Need Not Be Fatal, McCourt also trains a sober eye on the tragedies that have shaped his life: the deaths of his sister and twin brothers; the real story behind Angela's famous ashes; and a poignant account of the death of the man who left his mother, brothers, and him to nearly die in squalor. McCourt writes with deep emotion of the staggering losses of all three of his brothers, Frank, Mike, and Alphie. In his inimitable way, McCourt takes the grim reaper by the lapels and shakes the truth out of him.
As he rides the final blocks on his Rascal scooter, he looks too at the prospect of his own demise with emotional clarity and insight. In this beautifully rendered memoir, McCourt shows us how to live life to its fullest, how to grow old without acting old, and how to die without regret.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    May 16, 2017

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781478975076
      • File size: 239630 KB
      • Duration: 08:19:13

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      No one else could perform the life story of the eccentric and brilliant Malachy McCourt. Now in his 80s, the bestselling author (who never graduated from grammar school) and talk-radio pioneer looks ahead to the inevitability of death--and spits in its face. McCourt talks about his life in Brooklyn and Ireland; his saintly mother, Angela; and his equally famous brother, Frank, who wrote of ANGELA'S ASHES. The audiobook is like sitting at the dinner table listening to a beloved uncle talk about his life. He sings, he jokes ("I'm an atheist, thank God"), and he tells us not to fear death. More importantly, with good humor and an endless supply of stories, he teaches us to accept our fate and die leaving no stone unturned. M.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
    • Booklist

      April 15, 2017
      Celebrated Irish-American wit McCourt riffs on the theme of death, pouring out anecdotes both humorous and somber from a life lived gregariously amidst constant tragedy. As a child in Limerick, he lost two brothers and an infant sister, his mother wailing and his father cursing God. Coming to America he wears a dead man's suit. Finding success as a television personality and New York barman, he drinks with a death wish and imagines turning his car off the highway. He sits on deathwatch for his spirited mother, Angela, whose ashes his older brother Frank would commemorate in his bestselling memoir, and years later he sits again for Frank himself. Now nearing 90, McCourt, backed by McDonald, bookends his laments over his weakening body and musings on hospice care and his own final exhalation with funny one-liners. Veering at times into philosophical inquiry, addiction narrative, celebrity tell-all, and a tender appraisal of brotherly rivalry, McCourt continually returns to themes of acceptance, gratitude, and love. Breezy and lighthearted except when it's not, this is a grand showcase for McCourt's continued vivacity.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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