Teach Me How To Die - Softcover

Rauch, Joseph

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0692863338 ISBN 13: 9780692863336

Publisher: Joseph Rauch Books and Stories, 2017

Synopsis

Walter Klein can’t stop thinking about death. He wonders what would happen if he stuck a knife in his toaster. He wonders if his latest elevator ride will end in the cable snapping and everyone plummeting to their doom.

He wonders if today will be the day he dies, but he knows it won’t be from a toaster or an elevator. It will be from the cancer. He has refused treatment, and soon the cancer will take him away. There is no hope left.

When Walter finally passes on, after a painfully ordinary day full of a million little regrets, he has no idea what awaits him.

The first person Walter meets on his journey is his guide, Vincent. As the two men make their way through different planes of existence and contemplate the true meanings of life and death, something surprising will happen. Vincent begins to see Walter as a friend. The adventures that await the lonely spirit and his steadfast guide will change both of their hearts and reveal the truth about human nature.

Writer Joseph Rauch uses Walter and Vincent to weave an intricate story about spirituality, death, grief, and love.

About this title

About the Author

The author of "Teach Me How To Die" and "The Last of the Mentally Ill," Joseph Rauch studied creative writing at New York University. His work has been featured in Mr. Beller's Neighborhood, The Huffington Post, Vice, Psychology Today, and other publications. He works full-time as a writer and lives in New York City.

From the Back Cover

"Joseph Rauch is a promising young writer who calls to mind the darkly comic, metaphorical worlds of Etgar Keret. Mr. Rauch has a wicked imagination and a profound understanding of what makes us tick." -Said Sayrafiezadeh, author of Brief Encounters with the Enemy

Walter Klein is a biracial atheist and cancer-stricken widower who, after refusing treatment for his aggressive symptoms, passes on and begins his journey through the afterlife with a series of violent hallucinations where he purges his darkest desires.

He then meets his snarky and bitter guide, Vincent, who helps him understand the fantastic yet brutal nature of the "spiritual processing system" as he mingles with other souls, witnesses controversial judgments, reflects on the feelings of guilt he brought with him, and ruminates upon a looming existential choice.

Edition details

• Publisher: Joseph Rauch Books and Stories
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0692863338
• ISBN 13: 9780692863336
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 175