Killing Yourself to Live

85% of a True Story

By: Chuck Klosterman

Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor

For 6,557 miles, Chuck Klosterman thought about dying. He drove a rental car from New York to Rhode Island to Georgia to Mississippi to Iowa to Minneapolis to Fargo to Seattle, and he chased death and rock 'n' roll all the way. Within the span of 21 days, Chuck had three relationships end, one by choice, one by chance, and one by exhaustion. He snorted cocaine in a graveyard. He walked a half-mile through a bean field. A man in Dickinson, North Dakota, explained to him why we have fewer windmills than we used to. He listened to the KISS solo albums and the Rod Stewart box set.

At one point, poisonous snakes became involved. The road is hard. From the Chelsea Hotel to the swampland where Lynyrd Skynyrd's plane went down to the site where Kurt Cobain blew his head off, Chuck explored every brand of rock star demise. He wanted to know why the greatest career move any musician can make is to stop breathing...and what this means for the rest of us.

©2005 Chuck Klosterman (P)2005 Tantor Media, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A treat for the adventurous." (Booklist)
"Klosterman has clearly established that he has a potent voice all his own." (Publishers Weekly)

Good ol' Chuck

I've been reading CK since '07. Always enjoy his work. This is definitely classic

Not what I expected.

Was hoping for more about the actual musicians and their stories. Mostly about Chuck's own love life. Not bad, just not what I was expecting.

Good, But Not What I Expected

I enjoyed this book, but it wasn't what I expected from the editor's description. This is a memoir. It's not just about rock n' roll and death, it's about the love life of Chuck Klosterman (and I'm not quite sure why he doesn't narrate this book).

I enjoy Chuck's personality. His references to the music he listens to and relates to are sometimes obscure, but always fantastic.

However, listeners/readers ought to know that rock n' roll is the relatively quiet backseat friend in this story. It's really you and Chuck riding up front.

Klosterman Rocks

To all the girls I loved before. Inside Chuck’s head for almost 3 weeks, as he catalogues rock n roll deaths and the ghosts of girlfriends past. Patrick Lawlor is the best narrator and captures Chuck voice brilliantly.

Great book, good starting point.

Start here if this is your first Klosterman audio book. He doesn't read this one.