David Shields 
The Thing About Life Is That One Day You”ll Be Dead 

Mesmerized and somewhat unnerved by his 97-year-old father”s vitality and optimism, David Shields undertakes an original investigation of our flesh-and-blood existence, our mortal being.
Weaving together personal anecdote, biological fact, philosophical doubt, cultural criticism, and the wisdom of an eclectic range of writers and thinkers – from Lucretius to Woody Allen – Shields expertly renders both a hilarious family portrait and a truly resonant meditation on mortality.