"Nothing can be said to be certain," wrote Ben Franklin, "except death and taxes." And yet, death is often ignored, dismissed, or delayed as an experience worth contemplating—until we are forced to reckon with it head-on. The books in this collection do their own reckoning.
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Midlife, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Nurture v. Nature, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Mothers, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Psychological Fiction
Publication year 2018
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Gender, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Natural World: Place, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Business / Economics, Mystery / Crime Fiction
Publication year 1997
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Marriage, Relationships: Siblings, Society: Community
Tags Realistic Fiction, Romance, African American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction
Pearl Cleage’s debut novel, What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day, traces one summer in the life of the protagonist, Ava Johnson. Ava’s once independent and exciting life in Atlanta, Georgia, changes forever when she tests positive for HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), the virus that can lead to AIDS. As a Black woman living in the 1990s, Ava is immediately met with social and cultural stigmas surrounding the virus. Unable to maintain her hair... Read What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day Summary
Publication year 2022
Genre Novella, Fiction
Themes Identity: Femininity, Identity: Gender, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Natural World: Flora/plants, Natural World: Place, Society: Class, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt
Tags Fantasy, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Historical Fiction, Gothic Literature, Mystery / Crime Fiction
Publication year 1991
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Identity: Disability, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Siblings
Tags Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Drama / Tragedy, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape is the debut novel by Academy Award-nominated writer Peter Hedges. Set in 1989, the novel is a coming-of-age story about a young man whose life is overshadowed by the tragedy and family drama that surround him. The novel was a critical success upon its release in 1991 and was adapted into a movie starring Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio in 1993, for which Hedges also wrote the screenplay. This study guide... Read What's Eating Gilbert Grape Summary
Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Life/Time: Aging, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Marriage, Relationships: Siblings, Relationships: Family
Tags Irish Literature, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2016
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: Mortality & Death
Tags Health / Medicine, Science / Nature, Philosophy, Philosophy, Biography
When Breath Becomes Air is a memoir by Paul Kalanithi. It was published in 2016. Kalanithi tells the story of his battle with cancer while being a practicing neurosurgeon. The book is organized chronologically, following the trajectory of his life from childhood to death, and is laced with deep philosophical thought and literary prose. His meditations combine the expertise of a professional with the experience of a patient, resulting in a book that communicates extremely... Read When Breath Becomes Air Summary
Publication year 1991
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death
Tags Lyric Poem, Science / Nature
Publication year 1848
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Emotions/Behavior: Love
Tags Lyric Poem, Relationships, Drama / Tragedy, Classic Fiction, Education, Education
Publication year 1992
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Mental Health, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Self Discovery
Tags Historical Fiction, Existentialism, Psychology, Philosophy, Modernism, American Literature, History: World, Psychology, Classical Period, Philosophy, Classic Fiction
When Nietzsche Wept is a 1992 novel written by Stanford University Professor of Psychology Irvin D. Yalom. Set in Vienna in 1882, the novel imagines a working relationship between the famous German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and the eminent physician Josef Breuer. Breuer believes that Nietzsche’s physical ailments have psychological causes, and he embarks on his newly invented “talking cure”—effectively a precursor to talk therapy and psychoanalysis. Eventually, through an agreement between the two men, it... Read When Nietzsche Wept Summary
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Identity: Gender, Identity: Race, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Self Discovery, Society: Immigration, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality
Tags Fantasy, LGBTQ, Jewish Literature, History: World, Historical Fiction, Religion / Spirituality
Publication year 2024
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Identity: Mental Health, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Family, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags History: World
Publication year 2011
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Identity: Mental Health, Identity: Race, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Family, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags Race / Racism, African American Literature, Civil Rights / Jim Crow, History: World, Biography
Carolyn Maull McKinstry's memoir While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement (2011) describes the author’s experiences growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, during the 1950s and 1960s. At 14 years old, McKinstry survived the racially motivated bombing of Sixteen Street Baptist Church. Four of McKinstry’s friends were killed in the explosion, and the trauma of the experience haunted her into adulthood. McKinstry later embraced a peaceful approach... Read While the World Watched Summary
Publication year 1988
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Relationships: Siblings, Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Mortality & Death
Tags Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Grief / Death, Education, Education
Michael Cunningham’s short story “White Angel” was published first in the New Yorker in 1987 and later as a chapter in his 1990 novel A Home at the End of the World. Cunningham has won several major literary awards, including the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his novel The Hours. “White Angel” is written in a realist style, poetic and at times humorous. The author uses symbolism to illustrate the narrator’s preoccupation with time... Read White Angel Summary
Publication year 2019
Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Fiction
Themes Identity: Disability, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Life/Time: The Past, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Relationships: Family, Society: War, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Relationships: Fathers, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Gratitude, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Society: Nation
Tags Historical Fiction, Children's Literature, Drama / Tragedy, WWII / World War II, Holocaust, Military / War, History: World
Publication year 1999
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance
Tags Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy
White Oleander was written by Janet Fitch and first published in 1999. It is a young adult realistic fiction novel that functions as a bildungsroman and focuses on the story of a young girl who is separated from her mother and placed in a series of dysfunctional foster homes. The novel was chosen for Oprah’s Book Club in 1999 and achieved national bestseller status afterward. It was also adapted into a 2002 film of the... Read White Oleander Summary
Publication year 2006
Genre Biography, Nonfiction
Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Natural World: Place, Society: Class, Society: Nation, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology
Tags Children's Literature, Education, Education, History: World, Biography
Publication year 1922
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Emotions/Behavior: Hope
Tags Classic Fiction, American Literature, Relationships, Education, Education, History: World, Romance
“Winter Dreams” (1922) is one of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Gatsby cluster stories,” which informed the creation of his renowned novel The Great Gatsby. Like The Great Gatsby, “Winter Dreams” features the themes of love and longing, the futility of the American dream, illusion and disillusionment, and the fleetingness of time.This study guide references Collected Works of F. Scott Fitzgerald (45 Short Stories and Novels), released in 2013 by ESCBO Publishing.“Winter Dreams” begins in Minnesota when... Read Winter Dreams Summary
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Life/Time: Mortality & Death
Tags Romance, Realistic Fiction, Health / Medicine, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction
Publication year 1995
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death
Tags Education, Education, Grief / Death, Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy, Classic Fiction, Health / Medicine
Wit—sometimes spelled as W;t—is a Pulitzer-Prize winning play by Margaret Edson first published in 1995. The play follows the story of Dr. Vivian Bearing, a 50-year-old professor of 17th-century poetry who has recently been diagnosed with stage-four metastatic ovarian cancer. The plot itself is nonlinear; for example, the opening scene of the play takes place two hours before Vivian dies, but the play switches between Vivian’s childhood, career, and treatment milestones to tell her whole... Read Wit Summary