Will the Circle Be Unbroken? : Reflections on Death, Rebirth, and Hunger for a Faith

New York, NY, U.S.A.: Ballantine Books, 2002. Trade Paperback. As New. First Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. In Terkel's powerful new book a wide range of people address that final experience and its impact on the present in which they live. In talking about the ultimate and unknowable culmination of life, these people give voice to their deepest beliefs and hopes, reflecting on the lives they have led and what still lies before them. Whether it’s Working or The Great War, the legendary oral histories of Studs Terkel have offered indispensable insights into all areas of American life. Now, at eighty-eight, the Pulitzer Prize winner creates his most important work on a subject few can comfortably discuss: death. Here, in the voices of people both esteemed and unknown, are wise words, meaningful memories, and compassionate predictions about the experience of life’s end and what may come after. A grad student explains how her two-year coma convinced her of the existence of reincarnation . . . A Hiroshima survivor reconciles her painful memories with the stoicism of her Japanese culture . . . Actress Uta Hagan expresses how her art is her religion and will be her legacy . . . Oscar-winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler relives his World War II ordeal, after a torpedo left him in a lifeboat among injured and dying comrades . . . An AIDS counselor reveals why healthy gay men may require the most crucial psychological help . . . and a retired firefighter admits he never felt so alive as when he was doing his dangerous job. From the sheer physical facts to the emotional realities to spiritual speculations, all aspects of death are openly expressed in this wonderful work, the stirring culmination of Studs Terkel’s brilliant career. 407 pages..