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Life is Crazy and We're All Going to Die: A Book about Hope in Strange Places
A smart-alec agnostic from Silicon Valley reaches the end of her rope after discovering her husband has been cheating with an eBay addict he met on Craigslist. Desperate, she signs up for an online marriage support site.
Enter Jamie Blaine, a scatter-brained former late-night suicide crisis responder from Tennessee. Blaine is about to take a job as a Kroger night stocker when he’s offered a chance to make some quick, easy cash serving as a “love coach” for a shady website for jilted spouses.
The story Vicky is not only dealing with a two-timing mate but also an abusive boss and parents who suggest that her relationships might improve if she’d slim down and buy lacy black underwear. Late one night, Vicky writes that the weight is too heavy and each day is a battle to survive. She admits there are pills and the note is written.
Jamie Instead of ending your life, why not try changing it first? What do you really have to lose?
Life is Crazy & We’re All Going to Die is the story of a woman who ditched her dead-end job, cut her cheating husband loose and went looking for hope in the last place you’d expect – with losers, drunks, and schizophrenic vets, prostitutes turning alley tricks for a Happy Meal and a fix…
It’s also the story of burnt-out Jamie Blaine, trying to and a way to help without losing his mind and realizing that even though it’s messy, even though people will let you down, if for nothing else but your own sanity, you get back up and try again.
Raw, real, funny and ultimately redemptive, Life is Crazy & We’re All Going to Die offers a view of humanity beyond social justice, past denominations, deeper than the platforms, political causes or lines that divide us.
Enter Jamie Blaine, a scatter-brained former late-night suicide crisis responder from Tennessee. Blaine is about to take a job as a Kroger night stocker when he’s offered a chance to make some quick, easy cash serving as a “love coach” for a shady website for jilted spouses.
The story Vicky is not only dealing with a two-timing mate but also an abusive boss and parents who suggest that her relationships might improve if she’d slim down and buy lacy black underwear. Late one night, Vicky writes that the weight is too heavy and each day is a battle to survive. She admits there are pills and the note is written.
Jamie Instead of ending your life, why not try changing it first? What do you really have to lose?
Life is Crazy & We’re All Going to Die is the story of a woman who ditched her dead-end job, cut her cheating husband loose and went looking for hope in the last place you’d expect – with losers, drunks, and schizophrenic vets, prostitutes turning alley tricks for a Happy Meal and a fix…
It’s also the story of burnt-out Jamie Blaine, trying to and a way to help without losing his mind and realizing that even though it’s messy, even though people will let you down, if for nothing else but your own sanity, you get back up and try again.
Raw, real, funny and ultimately redemptive, Life is Crazy & We’re All Going to Die offers a view of humanity beyond social justice, past denominations, deeper than the platforms, political causes or lines that divide us.
- GenresFiction
240 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 25, 2023
86 people are currently reading
92 people want to read
About the author
Jamie Blaine
8 books18 followersJamie Blaine is the author of Midnight Jesus and Mercy Never Sleeps, and his writing has been featured in publications around the world. He is a USA Today, Wall Street Journal and New York Times bestselling author.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 5, 2023
This is a book about hope. It is so well written and funny too. The authors are immediately likable and relatable . I couldn’t put this book down.
May 8, 2025
I had no idea what this was going to be when I picked it up, it turned out to be stories about real redemption through church and service. Inspiring, but not my usual choice
January 1, 2026
Much more than I ever expected.
I started this book expecting a slightly humorous story about a woman and her online experience with finding therapy for help with her marriage problems. She found it and so much more. I found a lot in the pages as well. I found kindness and what it can mean when you truly make an effort to help others. What a brave person she became. Reading this felt like someone was shining a light into the dark areas inside me. I did a lot of highlighting during my time with this book. I also felt many emotions throughout. I needed this book to remind me to be grateful and to be kind. Kind to myself and kind to others, others I might not understand or agree with. A story of people with needs and searching for truth and answers helping people needing the same and more.
I started this book expecting a slightly humorous story about a woman and her online experience with finding therapy for help with her marriage problems. She found it and so much more. I found a lot in the pages as well. I found kindness and what it can mean when you truly make an effort to help others. What a brave person she became. Reading this felt like someone was shining a light into the dark areas inside me. I did a lot of highlighting during my time with this book. I also felt many emotions throughout. I needed this book to remind me to be grateful and to be kind. Kind to myself and kind to others, others I might not understand or agree with. A story of people with needs and searching for truth and answers helping people needing the same and more.
August 2, 2023
What a triumphant story! Both the female and male characters found meaning and a desire to move forward during a very trying time. It's inspiring and such a good lesson and reminder that we're all basically the same, we all have similar struggles, and there are things and people out there to help along the way.
Really great writing and such an endearing story!
Really great writing and such an endearing story!
December 31, 2023
I picked up this book after meeting the author while I was volunteering at Street Life Ministries. I was a bit skeptical before reading it, but it turned out to be a page turner and I have to say Vicky’s story is very inspirational. I would definitely recommend this especially if you like touching memoirs.
March 15, 2024
Life is a gift
Wisdom on the street is rough. God lives through us all. To be a child of God is to accept our shortcomings and share that roughness in a way that smooths the edges of another soul looking for hope. This book will shine the light on those souls smoothing the edges of each day in this broken world.
Wisdom on the street is rough. God lives through us all. To be a child of God is to accept our shortcomings and share that roughness in a way that smooths the edges of another soul looking for hope. This book will shine the light on those souls smoothing the edges of each day in this broken world.
August 9, 2023
Life Is Crazy and We’re All Going to Die: A Book about Hope in Strange Places – Jamie Blaine – Vicky Lanzone – 2023 -
In this first-person dialogue driven narrative, a wife must reinvent herself in the aftermath of divorce and finds a new meaning and purpose for her life serving the poor, mentally ill, addicted, and unhoused people that seek understanding and services in their greatest time of vulnerability and need.
As the story began, Ms. Lanzone was informed that her philandering husband Wayne was leaving her with the only explanation that he deserved to be happy. Later, she uncovered secret phones and email accounts linking Wayne to another woman. Perhaps the thought of being entirely alone prompted her decision to enroll in internet marriage counseling services, her Eastern European immigrant parents seemed indifferent and totally non-supportive, nor did she seem to have any close friends to confide in which may helped her realize her marriage was not worth saving.
When Ms. Lanzone started attending non-denominational church services and found fellowship with others involved in the Bay area church outreach ministry, her spirituality, faith, and outlook on life was uplifted. Although the title of the book is odd and unsettling, and it isn’t easy keeping track of the person actually telling the story-- the book raises a greater awareness of the human condition and those who volunteer to serve others. (3*GOOD).
In this first-person dialogue driven narrative, a wife must reinvent herself in the aftermath of divorce and finds a new meaning and purpose for her life serving the poor, mentally ill, addicted, and unhoused people that seek understanding and services in their greatest time of vulnerability and need.
As the story began, Ms. Lanzone was informed that her philandering husband Wayne was leaving her with the only explanation that he deserved to be happy. Later, she uncovered secret phones and email accounts linking Wayne to another woman. Perhaps the thought of being entirely alone prompted her decision to enroll in internet marriage counseling services, her Eastern European immigrant parents seemed indifferent and totally non-supportive, nor did she seem to have any close friends to confide in which may helped her realize her marriage was not worth saving.
When Ms. Lanzone started attending non-denominational church services and found fellowship with others involved in the Bay area church outreach ministry, her spirituality, faith, and outlook on life was uplifted. Although the title of the book is odd and unsettling, and it isn’t easy keeping track of the person actually telling the story-- the book raises a greater awareness of the human condition and those who volunteer to serve others. (3*GOOD).
September 21, 2023
I read this book at a recommendation of a good friend. It was a true story of a woman's struggle with divorce and rediscovering herself and finding purpose in life. I highly recommend it
February 2, 2026
This book sticks with you and makes you look at the world differently.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews