Death by Living: Life Is Meant to Be Spent

By N. D. Wilson

Each of us is in the middle of a story. In this astoundingly unique book, bestselling author N.D. Wilson reminds us that to truly live we must recognize that we are dying. Cause of death: life.

Death by Living is a poetic exploration of faith, futility, and the incredible joy of this mortal life.

N.D. Wilson recounts stories from his life in poetic prose, giving perspective on the life we're given by God. Death by Living explores the topics of family, grappling with the death of loved ones, and how to live with intention to get the most out of our time on Earth. Wilson encourages us to live hard and die grateful, and to see Christ in every pair of eyes. To write a past we won’t regret.

All of us must pause and breathe. See the past, see life as the fruit of providence and thousands of personal narratives. We did not choose where to set our feet in time, but we choose where to set them next. We stand in the now. God says create. Live. Choose. Shape the past. Etch your life in stone, and what you make will be forever.

In Death by Living, you will:

• Experience life with renewed wonder
• Recognize mundane moments as opportunities
• Learn to live hard and die grateful
• Recognize death as a gift instead of something to be feared

At once inspiring, humorous, and unbelievably moving, this a book that you will read again and again, finding fresh perspective each time you open it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Release date: May 14, 2013
• ISBN: 9780849965036

N. D. Wilson

N. D. Wilson lives and writes in the top of a tall, skinny house only one block from where he was born. But his bestselling novels have traveled far and wide, disguising themselves in many strange languages in dozens of distant and mysterious lands. He is the author of ten novels, including the Outlaws of Time series, the Ashtown Burials series, and the 100 Cupboards trilogy. He and his wife have five young storytellers of their own, along with an unreasonable number of pets. www.ndwilson.com

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Reviews for Death by Living

[Tony Lee Ross Jr. · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A very, very, emotional book with witty and useful views.

[Audrey · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A truly beautiful view of life, death, and the Writer of the greatest story ever written or told. I was either laughing, crying (sometimes both), or inspired by new thoughts while reading this book. Whether he was describing scenes with his children or portraits from the past, Wilson's joy, laughter, and thankfulness for the opportunity to spend his life for others became infectious.

[jimfields3-277785 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

N. D. Wilson wrote Death by Living to remind each of us that to truly live we must recognize that we are dying. The subtitle is “Life is meant to be spent,” and the tagline describes this as a “poetic portrait of faith, futility, and the joy of this mortal life.” (Poetic indeed.)The crux of his message comes buried in Chapter 2: “If you think it, live it. If you don’t live it, you don’t really think it. You are not what you think (or what you think you think). You are not what you say you are. You are what you do.” Talk is cheap, and actions speak louder than words.I struggled to get through this book: I prefer books to be linear and organized, and Mr. Wilson seems to prefer the exact opposite. I enjoyed some of his phrasing as he recalled the tales of his grandparents, and for me his choice of stories seemed to match his intended goal. (He wrote in Chapter 2 that “stories are soul food” and nourish us as much as the physical food we eat.) But in the end I was left confused and had to struggle to make sense of the work as a whole. Were I to edit a digest of this I could easily reduce the book to a fraction of its size and still communicate his message.If you’re interested in spending time indulging in a poetic, very non-linear book encouraging you to make the most of your life, this is the book for you. Otherwise, skip this book for something better. After all life is too short to waste on rambling, incoherent treatises.

[leandrod-2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wilsonian poetic prose about the passing of his grandparents, & the raising of children, & living to the fullest under God.

[joshrskinner-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I had heard this book was good(as was Notes) but I had determined it was going to be too artsy and non-linear for me so I was not going to read it.

Then my wife said she was going to read it so I bought her a copy and decided to read it as well.

What a blessing. The way Wilson writes is engaging, entertaining, encouraging, and probably many more en-somethings than I could even come up with.

I really, really enjoyed this book and God has used it to teach and exhort me to greater faithfulness to him, a faithfulness that hopefully will continually pour out to those around me.
Great book.