Half a Life

A Memoir

By: Darin Strauss

Narrated by: Darin Strauss

In this powerful, unforgettable memoir, acclaimed novelist Darin Strauss examines the far-reaching consequences of the tragic moment that has shadowed his whole life. In his last month of high school, he was behind the wheel of his dad's Oldsmobile, driving with friends, heading off to play mini-golf. Then: a classmate swerved in front of his car. The collision resulted in her death. With piercing insight and stark prose, Darin Strauss leads us on a deeply personal, immediate, and emotional journey—graduating high school, going away to college, starting his writing career, falling in love with his future wife, becoming a father. Along the way, he takes a hard look at loss and guilt, maturity and accountability, hope and, at last, acceptance. The result is a staggering, uplifting tour de force.

Look for special features inside, including an interview with Colum McCann.

Critic reviews

“Elegant, painful, stunningly honest . . . huge [and] heartbreaking.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Darin Strauss has spent a good part of his adult life reliving, regretting and reflecting on a single, split-second incident. Half a Life is a starkly honest account of that fateful moment and his life thereafter . . . penetrating, thought-provoking.”—The Washington Post

“A book that inspires admiration, sentence by sentence . . . This is a memoir in its finest form, a fully imagined and bittersweet book that transcends a single misstep.”—Chicago Tribune

“Painfully raw and beautifully written.”—Los Angeles Times

“A remarkable, beyond-brave memoir.”—O: The Oprah Magazine

“Lyrical and haunting.”—San Francisco Chronicle

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR AND THE PLAIN DEALER

Penance Finally And Thankfully Meets With Peace

Where does Half a Life rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Hearing Darin narrate his own story added to the power of his extraordinary emotional honesty. I could hear him trying to tell it just the way it happened, and how his life has been shaped by the one split second incident. It resonates with an urgency to communicate the complete truth in so far as it can be remembered and told.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Half a Life?

There were so many, but I think that the occasion when Darin goes to visit the parents of the girl he inadvertently killed, has stayed with me and moved me one of the most. Darin was so courageous in his efforts as a young man whose life has been up ended, to try to interpret and follow through with what he felt was the right thing to do, no matter what the personal cost. As he describes the visit of his younger self it is impossible not to feel some of the pain of those present.

Which scene was your favorite?

The social mine field of the school reunion ten years on was brilliantly portrayed.

Any additional comments?

Aside from the power and impact of the events in the book, I found it to be beautifully written. Darin is a writer who I hadn't yet discovered. I was spell bound with his descriptions and the overall quality of writing. I think that while the book may be a step along the path towards his personal healing and journey, it is a gift to the rest of us. I hope to take lessons from it.

In the wrong place at the wrong time

Eighteen year old Strauss was driving to a game of mini-golf when a girl on a bicycle swerved in front of his car. This book is a thoughtful, respectful, and unsparing reflection on his struggle to shape the rest of his life around that single, horrific event.

Excellent writer

Honest account of our very real, lived inner world…. inner world is our true life.

authentic performance

Darin memoir really gave me a sense of perspective on how crucial of a time period adolescence is. The biggest takeaway I have from this book is that what we go through in life becomes us.

Confused

Why does he not read word for word? Why does he not read some footnotes,but reads others.