Dying Book Summary

In "Dying," Cory Taylor confronts the intimate reality of terminal illness with profound honesty and poetic beauty. Through a deeply personal narrative, she explores the complexities of mortality, memory, and the indelible impact of love. As her reflections unfold, Taylor deftly balances raw emotion with philosophical insights, inviting readers to ponder their own lives. With each page, she challenges cultural taboos surrounding death, prompting a fresh dialogue about end-of-life choices. "Dying" is an evocative meditation on what it means to truly live and to gracefully face the inevitable.

By Cory Taylor

Published: 2017

""Death is not a failure; it’s the ultimate testament to life, reminding us to cherish every fleeting moment we have.""

Book Review of Dying

"Bracing and beautiful . . . Every human should read it." —The New York Times A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice and 2017 Critics' Pick One of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of 2017 At the age of sixty, Cory Taylor is dying of melanoma-related brain cancer. Her illness is no longer treatable: she now weighs less than her neighbor’s retriever. As her body weakens, she describes the experience—the vulnerability and strength, the courage and humility, the anger and acceptance—of knowing she will soon die. Written in the space of a few weeks, in a tremendous creative surge, this powerful and beautiful memoir is a clear-eyed account of what dying teaches: Taylor describes the tangle of her feelings, remembers the lives and deaths of her parents, and examines why she would like to be able to choose the circumstances of her death. Taylor’s last words offer a vocabulary for readers to speak about the most difficult thing any of us will face. And while Dying: A Memoir is a deeply affecting meditation on death, it is also a funny and wise tribute to life.

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"Death is not a failure; it’s the ultimate testament to life, reminding us to cherish every fleeting moment we have."

Dying

By Cory Taylor