When doctors told Art Buchwald that his kidneys were kaput, the renowned humorist declined dialysis and checked into a Washington, D.C., hospice to...
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reviews
Jun 26, 2009
Jennybug
rated it: 
I am definitely not flying through this book. Although, I do plan on finishing it in time for book club. Maybe I should go read a couple pages right now.
I finished it. This was a funny little book about a funny little man, I think I would have liked to go visit him in the hospice, he seemed like a genuinely nice guy. Although, I did not particularly care for the book all that much, it was a little long. I did however hear that it sparked interesting discussions at book club, whi More...
I finished it. This was a funny little book about a funny little man, I think I would have liked to go visit him in the hospice, he seemed like a genuinely nice guy. Although, I did not particularly care for the book all that much, it was a little long. I did however hear that it sparked interesting discussions at book club, whi More...
Jul 30, 2007
Melissa
rated it:
this read left me with very mixed feelings. on one hand i LOVED the honest treatment yet humor-infused treatment of facing mortality/ death & other end-of-life issues that are so often shyed away from.
buchwald's situation of choosing to enter hospice (& thus expecting to die) but for unexplanable reasons not only surviving but improving enough to get kicked out of hospice resonates deeply with me in regard to the reality of how, even in this age of technology & medical advances, m More...
buchwald's situation of choosing to enter hospice (& thus expecting to die) but for unexplanable reasons not only surviving but improving enough to get kicked out of hospice resonates deeply with me in regard to the reality of how, even in this age of technology & medical advances, m More...
Oct 01, 2011
Kathy
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I was interested in this book because of the author. He wrote entertaining columns for years in the Washington Post. This book was especially touching about his upbringing, the adoptions of his children and the eulogy's at the end. A hospice nurse friend of mine says the body does some crazy things when you take all the drugs out of the system. In Buchwalds case, his kidney's began working on their own again and he lived 11 months longer than anticipated.
Oct 28, 2007
Charlotte
rated it: 
What a gift to be able to see the humor in one's own dying!
Some critics disliked Mr. Buchwald's name-dropping in this book. However, as I read the book, I began to think of Art as my personal friend, and I was proud that I had a friend who knew so many famous people.
The author wrote about his bouts of depression and his marriage which was "happy if you don't count the unhappiness". Although he and his wife separated, they remained close.
More...
Some critics disliked Mr. Buchwald's name-dropping in this book. However, as I read the book, I began to think of Art as my personal friend, and I was proud that I had a friend who knew so many famous people.
The author wrote about his bouts of depression and his marriage which was "happy if you don't count the unhappiness". Although he and his wife separated, they remained close.
More...
Sep 20, 2010
Laurie
rated it: 
AN AMAZING BOOK, AS ART BUCHWALD PREPARES FOR A DEATH THAT DOESN'T OCCUR AS SOON AS EXPECTED. FUNNY AND TOUCHING AND A TRIBUTE TO HOSPICE. I READ A MUCH EARLIER AUTOBIOGRAPHY BY ART AND NOT MUCH IN BETWEEN. NOW I WANT TO READ MORE OF HIS BOOKS. HE REALLY IS FUNNY AND MUST HAVE BEEN A MASTER AT PUTTING YOU ON.
Jul 03, 2010
Kim
rated it:
A quick and easy book to read. When the author is told that he will die without dialysis, he choses Hospice. I expected a grim and serious look back at his life, but was surprised at the laughs that I received. A great book about finding the humor in life as well as death.
Mar 05, 2011
Cindy
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In January '06 Art was admitted to the hospital with kidney failure and given two weeks to live. 11 months later he is still alive and kicking (with the one leg that has not been amputated). A frank sharing full of dignity and humor.
Jan 23, 2008
Art Buchwald's kidneys were failing. He needed dialysis to get his leg amputated, but then decided no more dialysis. He was in complete renal failure, checked himself into hospice and began the process of spending his last few weeks dying. Except he didn't. At least not for several months. He became the "Man Who Would Not Die" and got to say goodbye to everybody who meant anything to him - some of them more than once. He plans his funeral, his eulogy, the food being served; discu
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Aug 25, 2008
Judy
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Okay, your kidneys are not working, you decide not to undergo dialysis, and you check into hospice. What then? This is the situation Art Buchwld finds himself in. Instead of retreating into himself and quietly dying, he turns the hospice into a "party zone" and eventually get himself kicked out because of his longevity. This is a serious, and humorous, look at a life both well-spent and sometimes wasted before his "dirt nap." I grew up reading Buchwald's columns in the W
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Aug 16, 2011
Bill
rated it: 
This was recommended to by someone, my friend Walter, I think. I finally got around to reading it. Three conclusions:
1. I wish I hadn't.
2. Art Buchwald is neither funny nor interesting.
3. I'm not sure Walter is allowed to give me any more book recommendations.
1. I wish I hadn't.
2. Art Buchwald is neither funny nor interesting.
3. I'm not sure Walter is allowed to give me any more book recommendations.
Feb 03, 2009
Marcia
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I like to read humorist. Even though this is a story about the ending of his career and life, it's written with a sense of carefree humor.
Nov 28, 2010
Christopher
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LOVE it. Got me through my grandmother's death of the same problems. Put's it in a great perspective.
Jun 12, 2009
Gideon
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Life's a laugh! Or it should be one...! Helped me stop taking myself so seriously.
Jul 08, 2008
Matthew
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The premise of this book is very funny: a humorist checks into hospice, says goodbye to all of his friends and family...and then he doesn't die. The book isn't always as funny as the premise--it is sometimes preachy and often repetitive--but it has laugh-out-loud passages that make up for the dull bits.
Some of the essays are good for reading aloud. I'd use this book to raise this issue of hospice with someone who is afraid to think about it.
Some of the essays are good for reading aloud. I'd use this book to raise this issue of hospice with someone who is afraid to think about it.
Feb 15, 2011
Eling
rated it:
read 2/3 of this in 2010 and lost steam. decided to pick it up again + finish it off. I enjoyed it well enough, but obviously didn't find it exceptionally captivating. definitely motivates me to check out more of Art Buchwald's writing, though.
Mar 31, 2007
Sue
rated it: 
I liked Buchwald's story - choosing at 80 plus years to go into hospice rather than continuing on dialysis - but I found this book to be tiresome reading and found the chapter on his early sexual experiences to be too much to take.
Jan 06, 2009
Ron
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Very quick, easy read. Finished in about 1.5 hours, didn't read the epilogue. Most interesting part of the book was the description of the airplane ride to heaven, which is on the back of the book.
Jan 28, 2008
SomeForTheRoad.com
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Is it any wonder he did not die in the hospice he writes about when he has such spunk and will to live? Wonderful one line descriptions and comments sum up lives and much longer stories.
Mar 24, 2008
Bethany
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This book makes me want to be an expat journalist and live in Paris in the time of Buchwald and Hemingway....lust.
Sep 03, 2008
Colin
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Buchwald checks into a hospital to die. Hilarity (but not death) ensues.
Jan 28, 2012
Dec 09, 2011
