“I liked this book first for what it is, a cleanly written and fascinating story of a life spent paying close attention to the miracles but I also like it very much for what it isn’t, and could so easily have been, —a work of self-pity, a litany of ills and blaming.” —Brian Doyle, editor of Portland Magazine and author of Two Voices.
“This is truly an unusual book! What Jeff Metcalf has accomplished in his collection of essays is to write an intimate and frank book about a life well lived. It is a dear and personal book that increases the supply of affection in the world and adds mightily to our shared kindness. Incisive, personal, and brave, this is a book that will prove bracing company for years to come. Requiem for the Living is a memoir with a unique wavelength—mine and it should be on everyone’s night stand.” —Ron Carlson, author of: Return to Oakpine, Five Skies, The Signal, The Hotel Eden, and A Kind of Flying.
“Perhaps Jeff Metcalf cured himself by what he wrote. When I read the stories I think this might be possible. They are lovely, beautifully written, like a composer writing his own requiem.”
—Scott Carrier, Peabody award-winning radio producer and author of Running After Antelope and Prisoner of Zion: Muslims, Mormons, and Other Misadventures