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The consolations of mortality : making sense of death / Andrew Stark.

by Stark, Andrew, 1956- author.

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New Haven : Yale University Press, c2016.

Death -- Psychological aspects.

9780300219258 (hardcover : alk. paper) :

ix, 275 pages ; 22 cm

Part 1. Death is benign. Attending your own funeral ; How to rest on your laurels ; Look who's calling himself nothing ; Bucket lists -- Part 2. Mortality intimates immortality. Retiring your jersey ; Regrets? How much time do you have? ; You never know ; Making your mark -- Part 3. Immortality would be malignant. Is this all there is? ; Still life ; A wistful backward glance ; Making the sun run ; Mortality versus immortality? Why not the right to choose? -- Part 4. Life intimates death. The big sleep ; Stardust and moonshine ; Every time I say goodbye, I die a little ; My last espresso.

"For those who don't believe in an afterlife, the wisdom of the ages offers four great consolations for mortality: that death is benign and good; that mortal life provides its own kind of immortality; that true immortality would be awful; and that we experience the kinds of losses in life that we will eventually face in death. Can any of these consolations honestly reconcile us to our inevitable demise? In this timely book, Andrew Stark tests the psychological truth of these consolations and searches our collective literary, philosophical, and cultural traditions for answers to the question of how we, in the twenty-first century, might accept our mortal condition. Ranging from Epicurus and Heidegger to bucket lists, the flaming out of rock stars, and the retiring of sports jerseys, Stark's poignant and learned exploration shows how these consolations, taken together, reveal death as a blessing no matter how much we may love life."--Jacket flap.

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