I had very conflicting feelings while reading Half a Life. For some reason, when I think about a car accident in which someone died, I automatically assume that one driver was at fault. It’s much easier for an outsider to think this way. If someone was drinking and driving and it results in someone’s death, then you know who to blame: the person who got drunk and drove. It’s very black and white. However, those “no fault” accidents tend to be myriad shades of gray.

That’s basically where my confusion on the subject set in. On one hand, I felt for the author because the accident wasn’t his fault yet he was being ostracized for it. But on the other hand, if I were in the same position as the victim’s family or friends, I don’t know that I wouldn’t act the same way. There was no clear person to view as a “bad guy” and that’s basically what everyone wants when someone dies from something other than natural causes.

While it’s clear that the author wasn’t at fault for the accident, I did sort of view him as self-involved. It seemed that every reaction he had to Celine’s death was only about how it would affect him: his life, his family, his feelings. Celine as a person was put on the backburner through his point of view. I don’t know whether this was a coping mechanism or not, but it did make it seem like the author was feeling more bad for himself and what he went through as opposed to the fact that someone died.

Now on to the more “technical” stuff: Half a Life was well-written and it was written in a matter of fact way. There was no flowery or lyrical writing. It was what it was and that made it more appealing. Some of the memoirs I’ve read try to dramatize the events occurred to make it more compelling, but the author seemed to just state the truth. As a result, Half a Life was a little on the short side coming in at less than 200 pages. This is another thing that I found unique about it memoir-wise. I’ve read other memoirs that seem to add in every detail that may or may not be relevant to the overall story the authors are trying to tell. This book got straight to the point and basically stood there.

So, overall, I think I do recommend Half a Life. While I can’t say that I “liked” it considering how conflicting my feelings were about the book and about the author, I do have to say that it was compelling. I think it would make a great book club book. It seems like the type of book that begs for discussion. 193 pages ***