About The Book
Half my life ago, I killed a girl. In this powerful, unforgettable memoir, acclaimed novelist Darin Strauss recounts a tragedy and its aftermath. In his last month of high school, just after turning eighteen, Strauss is behind the wheel of his father's Oldsmobile, driving with friends—having "thoughts of mini-golf". Then out of the blue: a collision results in the death of a bicycling classmate, Celine, and shadows the rest of his life.
At Celine's funeral, he receives a hug from her mother: "'I know it was not your fault, Darin. They all tell me it was not your fault. But I want you to remember something. Whatever you do in your life, you have to do it twice as well now. Because you are living it for two people.' Her face was a picture of the misery that had worn out the voice. 'Can you promise me? Promise.'"
In spare and piercing prose, Darin Strauss explores loss and guilt, maturity and accountability, hope and acceptance—and the result is a staggering, uplifting memoir of identity development through heart-wrenching circumstances.
In 2011, Half a Life received the National Book Critics Circle Award for autobiography. The memoir is a New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice, an Entertainment Weekly "Must List" selection, and was named one of the best books of the year by the San Francisco Chronicle, the Plain Dealer, The Oregonian, and National Public Radio. The memoir is a Chicago Tribune Editor's choice and an Indie Next List pick.
About The Author
Darin Strauss is a recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship and a winner of the American Library Association's Alex Award. In addition to Half a Life, Strauss is the author of the novels The Real McCoy, Chang and Eng, and More Than It Hurts You. Strauss has had his work published in fourteen languages across twenty different countries. He is currently a Clinical Associate Professor at New York University in the creative writing program.
We are pleased to announce that Darin Strauss will address Marquette University's Class of 2016 and their family members at New Student Convocation on Wednesday, August 22, 2012 at 7 p.m.
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