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Ray Palen's Reviews > In My Time of Dying: How I Came Face to Face with the Idea of an Afterlife
In My Time of Dying: How I Came Face to Face with the Idea of an Afterlife
by
by
Some readers may recognize the title of this book from the classic Led Zeppelin song based on a Blind Willie Johnson blues classic. Others will note that the author Sebastian Junger is the writer of such unforgettable classics like THE PERFECT STORM. Neither of these facts will prepare you for the deeply emotional journey Junger is about to take you on with his latest memoir, IN MY TIME OF DYING.
There have been countless books dedicated to the subject of death or near death experiences. John Gunther’s classic DEATH BE NOT PROUD comes immediately to mind. However, you rarely get to experience the subject of one’s own mortality through the eyes of a famous author who previously had no faith and was raised to handle such things in an extremely scientific, forensic manner.
IN MY TIME OF DYING opens with one such experience where the near death depiction while surfing amongst monstrous waves is detailed in a manner only someone like Junger can manage. For Sebastian Junger, who had survived many life-threatening experiences throughout his career both personally and as a writer, nothing will prepare him for the unexpected blow that is dealt to him during the summer of 2020.
While enjoying some time with his wife and two children, Junger is overcome with severe abdominal pain while walking in the woods with his wife. He attempts to walk it out on his own but quickly requires the assistance of his wife as he loses control of his legs and his eyesight. She gets him home, phones for an ambulance and all are horrified at how active the EMT’s are with Junger. This sends the message to everyone, including Junger himself, that this is no minor medical issue.
Junger takes the time while recounting this ordeal to philosophize about the nature of life and death. He states that dying is the most ordinary thing you will ever do but also the most radical. The most unnerving and chilling thing I took away from Junger’s brilliant prose was when, during his near-death experience, he comes upon the fisherman of the ill fated Andrea Gail from THE PERFECT STORM. They are sitting in a circle on a beach when he approaches them and they announce to him: “We’ve been expecting you.”
He shares how he was raised, particularly by his brilliant engineer father, in a manner that included no religious belief of any sort and was far too rational. With that being passed on to Junger, it was not easy for him to admit to thoughts of an after-life until he was faced with his own mortality. The stomach issue was indeed major and several surgeries were required to save him after he lost nearly forty percent of his own blood. Having this happen during the Pandemic really brought the spectacular job the medical staff did in saving his life to light. It also has turned Junger into a regular blood donor.
The medical staff at Cape Cod Hospital all get their just due from the eternally grateful Junger and their methods in saving his life read like a television medical drama. The best way he describes what the staff did for him was when he compared their efforts as the civilian equivalent of combat surgery. Much like an episode of M*A*S*H, these doctors pulled out all stops and utilized everything at their disposal to save this man’s life
The after-life portion of the book is special and is surprisingly introduced via a deathbed visitation Junger receives from his father. Junger cites many works that dealt with this subject, including an examination of Schrodinger’s Cat --- part of that famous experiment that concluded that there was a point where the cat existed in a state somewhere between or simultaneously alive and dead. By surviving, Junger became that much more existential. He speaks about how humans live by patterns, meaning if something lives something else must die. That thought brought him to tears with the mere power of this depth of understanding.
IN MY TIME OF DYING is so well put together and both uplifting and eye-opening. While I am sorry Junger, or anyone for that matter, would have to suffer like this I am glad that it happened to someone with the ability to share and examine the entire process from start to finish and give us all something to be thankful for about life and to deeply ponder.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
There have been countless books dedicated to the subject of death or near death experiences. John Gunther’s classic DEATH BE NOT PROUD comes immediately to mind. However, you rarely get to experience the subject of one’s own mortality through the eyes of a famous author who previously had no faith and was raised to handle such things in an extremely scientific, forensic manner.
IN MY TIME OF DYING opens with one such experience where the near death depiction while surfing amongst monstrous waves is detailed in a manner only someone like Junger can manage. For Sebastian Junger, who had survived many life-threatening experiences throughout his career both personally and as a writer, nothing will prepare him for the unexpected blow that is dealt to him during the summer of 2020.
While enjoying some time with his wife and two children, Junger is overcome with severe abdominal pain while walking in the woods with his wife. He attempts to walk it out on his own but quickly requires the assistance of his wife as he loses control of his legs and his eyesight. She gets him home, phones for an ambulance and all are horrified at how active the EMT’s are with Junger. This sends the message to everyone, including Junger himself, that this is no minor medical issue.
Junger takes the time while recounting this ordeal to philosophize about the nature of life and death. He states that dying is the most ordinary thing you will ever do but also the most radical. The most unnerving and chilling thing I took away from Junger’s brilliant prose was when, during his near-death experience, he comes upon the fisherman of the ill fated Andrea Gail from THE PERFECT STORM. They are sitting in a circle on a beach when he approaches them and they announce to him: “We’ve been expecting you.”
He shares how he was raised, particularly by his brilliant engineer father, in a manner that included no religious belief of any sort and was far too rational. With that being passed on to Junger, it was not easy for him to admit to thoughts of an after-life until he was faced with his own mortality. The stomach issue was indeed major and several surgeries were required to save him after he lost nearly forty percent of his own blood. Having this happen during the Pandemic really brought the spectacular job the medical staff did in saving his life to light. It also has turned Junger into a regular blood donor.
The medical staff at Cape Cod Hospital all get their just due from the eternally grateful Junger and their methods in saving his life read like a television medical drama. The best way he describes what the staff did for him was when he compared their efforts as the civilian equivalent of combat surgery. Much like an episode of M*A*S*H, these doctors pulled out all stops and utilized everything at their disposal to save this man’s life
The after-life portion of the book is special and is surprisingly introduced via a deathbed visitation Junger receives from his father. Junger cites many works that dealt with this subject, including an examination of Schrodinger’s Cat --- part of that famous experiment that concluded that there was a point where the cat existed in a state somewhere between or simultaneously alive and dead. By surviving, Junger became that much more existential. He speaks about how humans live by patterns, meaning if something lives something else must die. That thought brought him to tears with the mere power of this depth of understanding.
IN MY TIME OF DYING is so well put together and both uplifting and eye-opening. While I am sorry Junger, or anyone for that matter, would have to suffer like this I am glad that it happened to someone with the ability to share and examine the entire process from start to finish and give us all something to be thankful for about life and to deeply ponder.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
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March 22, 2024
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March 22, 2024
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May 17, 2024
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