Stardust to Stardust: Reflections on Living and Dying Kindle Edition
by Erik Olin Wright (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
5.0 out of 5 stars 3 ratings
See all formats and editions
Kindle
from AUD 22.92
Erik Olin Wright, one of the most important sociologists of his time, takes us along on his intimate and brave journey toward death, and asks the big questions about human mortality.
Human life is a wild, extraordinary phenomenon: elements are brewed in the cen-ter of stars and exploding supernova, spewed across the universe; they eventually clumped into a minor planet around a modest star; then after some billions of years this “stardust” became complex molecules with self-replicating capacities that we call life. More billions of years pass and these self-replicating molecules join together into more complex forms, evolve into organisms which gain awareness and then consciousness, and finally, eventually, consciousness of their consciousness. Stardust turned into conscious living matter aware of its own existence. And with that comes consciousness of mortality. . . . That I, as a conscious being will cease to exist pales in significance to the fact that I exist at all. I don’t find that this robs my existence of meaning; it’s what makes infusing life with meaning possible.
--
July 7, 2020
--
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Erik Olin Wright was an extraordinarily kind mentor to his students, including me. But what stood out as he faced the end of his life was his courage and insight as he turned his analytical mind to himself and his own relationship to dying.The result is a deeply life-affirming take on death.” —Elizabeth Wrigley-Field, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Minnesota
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Erik Olin Wright (1947–2019) was Vilas Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin. He authored many books, including Classes, Interrogating Inequality, Class Counts, Deepening Democracy (with Archon Fung), and Envisioning Real Utopias.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product details
ASIN : B0851V41MJ
Publisher : Haymarket Books (July 7, 2020)
Publication date : July 7, 2020
=================
Customer Reviews: 5.0 out of 5 stars 3 ratings
Stardust to Stardust: Reflections on Living and Dying
by Erik Olin Wright
4.50 · Rating details · 30 ratings · 8 reviews
Erik Olin Wright, one of the most important sociologists of his time, takes us along on his intimate and brave journey toward death, and asks the big questions about human mortality.
Human life is a wild, extraordinary phenomenon: elements are brewed in the cen-ter of stars and exploding supernova, spewed across the universe; they eventually clumped into a minor planet around a modest star; then after some billions of years this "stardust" became complex molecules with self-replicating capacities that we call life. More billions of years pass and these self-replicating molecules join together into more complex forms, evolve into organisms which gain awareness and then consciousness, and finally, eventually, consciousness of their consciousness. Stardust turned into conscious living matter aware of its own existence. And with that comes consciousness of mortality. . . . That I, as a conscious being will cease to exist pales in significance to the fact that I exist at all. I don't find that this robs my existence of meaning; it's what makes infusing life with meaning possible. (less)
Write a review
Nick DeFiesta
Aug 02, 2020Nick DeFiesta rated it it was amazing
wow. one part illness narrative, one part (non-trite), as the subtitle goes, reflection on living and dying. with some sociology and marxism tossed in here and there. hard to stop reading.
flag3 likes · Like · comment · see review
Erin
Dec 18, 2021Erin rated it it was amazing
Prior to reading this book, I had heard of Erik Olin Wright but hadn’t read any of his work. I bought this book because I had to spend a certain amount of money to get free shipping on my Haymarket Books order. I am so very glad I got this book. You don’t have to know Erik or his work to enjoy this book; you don’t have to have any interest in politics or sociology. Stardust to Stardust is a beautifully human story for all people.
This book is a collection of blog posts written by the sociologist Erik Olin Wright chronicling his diagnosis and battle with leukemia. This seems like it would a huge downer to read, but it somehow isn’t. Yes, it is a weird experience to read someone’s diary as they experience the thing you know will ultimately kill them. And yes, this is a sad book—but the experience of reading it is wonderfully uplifting.
I couldn't put this book down. While reading it, I found myself simultaneously hoping Erik would pull through and bracing myself because I knew he wouldn’t. But it was never a downer and never a drag. I felt myself rooting for him the entire time, eagerly awaiting his next update.
A huge part of the appeal of this book is Erik’s steadfast kindness, humor, and optimism. Even in the face of a dire prognosis, he still had such warmth, patience, and gratitude for his life. I can only hope I have such a calm and positive mindset when my time on Earth is coming to an end.
While it is an inspiring and uplifting book, Stardust to Stardust does not rely on fake saccharine positivity. Erik wrote honestly to his readers when he was feeling scared, when he was in a lot of pain, or when he felt downright miserable. But the book never veers into maudlin or overly depressive territory. And it is surprisingly funny at times! Erik showed incredible resilience and honesty in the face of a physically and emotionally grueling battle with cancer.
Erik’s boundless curiosity makes this book a pleasure to read. He asks many questions of the doctors and nurses and has philosophical conversations with them on the nature of their work. He learns the life story of the phlebotomist who’s the best at drawing his blood. I also really enjoyed Erik’s sociological analysis of hospitals. Ever the academic, he muses about how the small staff-to-patient ratios, the long breaks that staff get between shifts, and even the physical layout of the cancer ward all help patients have better outcomes at this hospital than at many others. Even in the face of an ultimately fatal cancer, he was still endlessly fascinated by the social world around him and did a remarkable job sharing his fascination with his readers.
I especially liked how this book illuminates the dark and mysterious experience of battling cancer. My late mother was diagnosed with cancer when she was just ten years old. As an adult, she rarely discussed her experience with cancer; I knew she’d fought some kind of challenging, near-death battle, but I had no idea what that was actually like. Erik painstakingly details many of his treatments in the book, including the rollercoaster process of getting a bone marrow transplant, and this helped me understand what my mother must have gone through. Reading this book made me realize just how lucky my mom was to survive her fight with cancer—and by extension, how lucky I am that she survived so that I could live as well.
Finally, I was deeply moved by Erik’s relationship with his wife, Marcia. The undercurrent of their unwavering dedication to each other pervades the entire story. While Erik was in treatment, caring for him became Marcia's full time job, and she handled that responsibility with such grace and kindness. The number of smoothies this poor woman must have made! I found Erik and Marcia’s deep love for each other to be one of the most beautiful parts of this book.
I’m not an openly emotional person, but this book moved me to tears. I finished it on a plane and cried at the end. I had to obscure my face with the book so the passenger sitting beside me wouldn’t see the tears streaming down my cheeks (always buy the hardcover for this reason!).
Overall, reading Stardust to Stardust filled me with such incredible gratitude for my life, for my good health, for the people I love, and for everything I’ve experienced. I finished this book a week ago, and this feeling still has not worn off. Erik’s dedication to facing his own death with grace and dignity—and his deep love for all the people in his life—really changed my perspective on my own life. Reading this book made me wish I could have known Erik. I am so glad he wrote the blog that would later become this book, and that he shared his bleakest final moments with the world with strength, courage, and laughter. What a beautiful human with an immense love of life and of other people. (less)
flag2 likes · Like · comment · see review
Montana Goodman
Aug 23, 2020Montana Goodman rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
The more I read, the more attached I became to EOW and the more painful it became to read, knowing that he would die. Reading his plans for living while holding this knowledge of his future was at times almost unbearable. I feel so moved to have read his thoughts and reactions, from the mundane to the terrifying, and to witness his inner dialogue. Even after death, he has touched another human being and made her life more vibrant in the process.
flag2 likes · Like · comment · see review
Maggie Cox
Dec 24, 2020Maggie Cox rated it it was amazing
Just an absolutely wonderful book. It feels a little backwards that I read this before any of his other books but now I am really excited to see what else he was written. I am not going to say too much because I actually got this book as a Christmas gift for the one person who actively follows me on GoodReads but I really enjoyed it.
One of my favorite quotes:
"Hope and optimism are close cousins, but not the same." Page 209 (less)
flag1 like · Like · comment · see review
Chris
Jan 03, 2021Chris rated it really liked it
Shelves: bodies-medicine-health-disability, memoirs, social-science
After I finished this book, I wondered who the intended audience was. I had imagined it to be a kind of “When Breath Becomes Air: Prominent Social Scientist Edition,” but it’s only a minority of posts in which EOW does in fact reflect on living and dying (or structure and agency, or his grandchildren, or the nature of historical memory or the enterprise of sociology, or…). When you consider that this book is a reprint of his blog from CaringBridge, in which he was simply trying to keep his friends, family, and colleagues updated on the progress of his cancer, this makes sense. So it falls short of being a full-blown memoir of living with a terminal illness by definition.
And as an account of an experience of living with and dying of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) (and receiving a bone marrow transplant along the way), it’s probably already outdated, just given the constant evolution of cancer care.
But there’s a saying in academe, “Scratch a theory; find a biography.” EOW was about as prominent a social scientist as they come--and, even more rare, he was an optimistic one. Whereas I’m not sure I would read an end-of-life journal from any given prominent scholar within my field of interest or expertise, in this case it may well enrich one’s understanding of EOW’s scholarly ideas to get to know the personality behind them. (I can’t vouch for this personally, having not read any of his scholarly books.) It is something to remain optimistic, matter-of-fact, and appreciative of life on one’s deathbed--and I think I would be inclined to "believe" his scholarly ideas that much more, knowing the extent to which they really were fundamentally a reflection of his personality.
It’s also unusual for scholars of any stripe to even acknowledge that they live anywhere besides in their heads (i.e., certainly not in their bodies!). EOW deserves some serious props for being so frank about a domain that many academics are very uncomfortable in and certainly would not post about on a public CaringBridge page.
The same prominence that makes this book viable also makes EOW a little annoying, especially early on in the book/blog (i.e., before the cancer takes over, alas). He was a White man of a certain age who was a tenured professor at a major research university, and every so often I read a passage that seemed to reflect that and went “Wha--?” For example:
- His realization that “the capacity to exert effort may just be outside of one’s control.” (p. 11) Glad he finally got there, I guess?
- The discussion about how having joy in one’s work was more important than any achievements (true; also much easier to accomplish if you are fortunate enough to have a job that has given you both) (p. 24)
- “...since I am very chatty, have interesting things to say, and am always eager to foster personal relations, my experience could be very different than that of many other patients.” (p. 36) This may just be the introvert in me speaking, but isn’t it up to others to say whether what you have to say is interesting?!
He does acknowledge his privilege a couple times, to his credit.
I will say, it was heart-wrenching to read this in "actual book" form and watch the pages in my right hand dwindle, even before he knew that the end was near. :/ (less)
flagLike · comment · see review
No comments:
Post a Comment