Will the circle be unbroken? : reflections on death, rebirth, and hunger for a faith

Acknowledgments; Foreword; Introduction; Tom Gates; Bob Gates; Dr. Joseph Messer; Dr. Sharon Sandell; Dr. John Barrett; Marc and Noreen Levison; Lloyd (Pete) Haywood; Claire Hellstern; Ed Reardon; Robert Soreghan; Delbert Lee Tibbs; Dr. Frank Raila; Haskell Wexler; Tammy Snider; V.I.M. (Victor Israel Marquez); Angelina Rossi; Guadalupe Reyes; Rev. Willie T. Barrow; Father Leonard Dubi; Rabbi Robert Marx; Pastor Tom Kok; Rev. Ed Townley; Rick Rundle; Randy Buescher; Chaz Ebert; Antoinette Korotko-Hatch; Karen Thompson; Dimitri Mihalas; Hank Oettinger; Ira Glass; Kid Pharaoh; Quinn Brisben. Content: Tom Gates, a retired fireman -- Bob Gates, a retired police officer -- Dr. Joseph Messer -- Dr. Sharon Sandell -- Dr. John Barrett -- Marc and Noreen Levison, a paramedic and a nurse -- Lloyd (Pete) Haywood, a former gangbanger -- Claire Hellstern, a nurse -- Ed Reardon, a paramedic -- Robert Soreghan, a homicide detective -- Delbert Lee Tibbs, a former death-row inmate -- Dr. Frank Raila -- Haskell Wexler, a cinematographer -- Tammy Snider, a Hiroshima survivor (hibakusha) -- V.I.M. (Victor Israel Marquez, a Vietnam vet -- Angelina Rossi, his mother -- Guadalupe Reyes, a mother -- Rev. Willie T. Barrow -- Father Leonard Dubi -- Rabbi Robert Marx -- Pastor Tom Kok -- Rev. Ed Townley -- Rick Rundle, a city sanitation worker -- Randy Beuscher, an associate architect -- Chaz Ebert, a lawyer -- Antoinette Korotko-Hatch, a church worker -- Karen Thompson, a student -- Dimitri Mihalas, an astronomer and physicist -- Hank Oettinger, a retired printer -- Ira Glass, a radio journalist -- Kid Pharaoh, a retired "collector" -- Quinn Brisben, a retired teacher -- Kurt Vonnegut, a writer -- Bruce Bendinger, an advertising executive and writer -- Doc Watson, a folksinger -- Vernon Jarrett, a journalist -- Peggy Terry, a retired mountain woman -- Bessie Jones, a Georgia Sea Island Singer (1972) -- Rosalie Sorrels, a traveling folksinger -- Tico Valle, a young man -- Lori Cannon, "curator" of the Open Hand Society -- Brian Matthews, an ex-bartender, writer for a gay weekly -- Jewell Jenkins, a hospital aide -- Justin Hayford, a journalist, musician -- Matta Kelly, a case manager -- Jim Hapgood -- Nancy Lanoue -- Dr. Gary Slutkin -- William Warfield, a singer and teacher -- Uta Hagen, an actress -- Mick Betancourt -- Carlos Cortez, a painter and poet -- Vine Deloria, a writer and teacher -- Helen Sclair, a cemetery familiar -- Steve Young, a father -- Maurine Young, a mother -- William Herdegen, an undertaker -- Rory Moina, a hospice nurse -- Mamie Mobley, a mother -- Dr. Marvin Jackson, a son -- Kathy Fagan and Linda Gagnon, mothers. The renowned oral historian interviews ordinary people about facing mortality: “It’s the unguarded voices he presents that stay with you.” —The New York Times In this book, the Pulitzer Prize winner and National Book Award finalist Studs Terkel, author of the New York Times bestseller Working, turns to the ultimate human experience: death. Here a wide range of people address the unknowable culmination of our lives, the possibilities of an afterlife, and their impact on the way we live, with memorable grace and poignancy. Included in this remarkable treasury are Terkel’s interviews with such famed figures as Kurt Vonnegut and Ira Glass as well as with ordinary people, from policemen and firefighters to emergency health workers and nurses, who confront death in their everyday lives. Whether a Hiroshima survivor, a death-row parolee, or a woman who emerged from a two-year coma, these interviewees offer tremendous eloquence as they deal with a topic many are reluctant to discuss openly and freely. Only Terkel, whom Cornel West called “an American treasure,” could have elicited such honesty from people reflecting on the lives they have led and what lies before them still. “Extraordinary . . . a work of insight, wisdom, and freshness.” —The Seattle Times One of Studs Terkel's most important oral histories, Will the Circle Be Unbroken? turns to the ultimate human experience-that of death. Called ""extraordinary?a work of insight, wisdom, and freshness"" by the Seattle Times when it was first published fifteen years ago, the book explores-with unrivaled compassion and wisdom-the indelible variety of reactions to mortality and the experience of death and the possibility of life afterward. Here a wide range of people addresses the unknowable culmination of our lives and its impact on the way we live, with memorable grace and poignancy. Included in From interviews with a Hiroshima survivor, AIDS caseworker, death-row parolee, police, firefighters, emergency health workers, doctors, nurses, writers, undertakers, clergy, etc., etc. Abstract: From interviews with a Hiroshima survivor, AIDS caseworker, death-row parolee, police, firefighters, emergency health workers, doctors, nurses, writers, undertakers, clergy, etc., etc