In My Time of Dying: How I Came Face to Face with the Idea of an Afterlife

“What amazed me was how malevolent the whole thing seemed—Me? Why do you want me? I was young and had no idea the world killed people so casually.”

This quote expresses Junger’s shock at the indifference of nature and the randomness of death. The personification of the wave as a malevolent force highlights the author’s youthful perspective, attributing intent to a natural phenomenon. The rhetorical questions emphasize his disbelief and sense of being singled out. The final sentence reveals a key idea from the book: the arbitrary nature of death and how it contrasts with human expectations of fairness or purpose.

“The existential charm of tree work is that your fate is entirely in your hands. The stakes are high—your life—but as with chess, there are no random events. All the information you need to survive is right in front of you, and if you don’t, it’s because you made a mistake. That is not true of driving or air travel or combat or even crossing the street on a walk light.”

This quote contrasts the controlled risk of tree work with the randomness of other life-threatening situations. Junger uses the metaphor of chess to illustrate the predictability and control in tree climbing, emphasizing the direct relationship between one’s actions and survival. This passage explores themes of agency, risk, and the human desire for control over fate, which are central to In My Time of Dying. The comparison of tree work to everyday activities underscores the unpredictability of death in most aspects of life.

“Everyone has a relationship with death whether they want one or not; refusing to think about death is its own kind of relationship. When we hear about another person’s death, we are hearing a version of our own death as well, and the pity we feel is rooted in the hope that that kind of thing—the car accident, the drowning, the cancer—could never happen to us. It’s an enormously helpful illusion.”

This quote delves into the universal human relationship with mortality. Junger asserts that even avoidance is a form of engagement with death, highlighting the inescapable nature of this relationship. The author employs empathy to explain how people process others’ deaths, suggesting that pity is a defense mechanism against acknowledging one’s mortality.