Dying in Character: Memoirs on the End of Life

Introduction: \"It is when faced with death that we turn most bookish\" --
\"I never saw or heard the car coming\": my close call with death --
\"Death itself is a wonderful and positive experience\": Elisabeth Kubler-Ross and The wheel of life --
\"With autobiography there\'s always another text, a countertext\": Philip Roth and Patrimony --
\"Death confers a certain beauty on one\'s hours\": Harold Brodkey and This wild darkness --
\"I have never been tempted to write about my own life\": Susan Sontag, David Rieff, and Swimming in a sea of death --
\"Sleeplessness for me is a cherished state\": Edward W. Said and Out of place --
\"There is more than one sort of luck\": Tony Judt and The memory chalet --
\"I never realized dying could be so much fun\": Art Buchwald and Too soon to say goodbye --
\"Learn how to live, and you\'ll know how to die\": Morrie Schwartz\'s Letting go and Mitch Albom\'s Tuesdays with Morrie --
\"I\'m dying and I\'m having fun\": Randy Pausch and The last lecture --
\"Now I cultivate the art of simmering memories\": Jean-Dominique Bauby and The diving bell and The butterfly --
\"I live in my suffering and that makes me happy\": Roland Barthes and Mourning diary --
Conclusion: \"alive when they died.\"