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  • Published: 15 July 2012
  • ISBN: 9781583944073
  • Imprint: North Atlantic
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 304
  • RRP: $45.00
Categories:

Exit Laughing

How Humor Takes the Sting Out of Death





Exit Laughing will appeal to anyone seeking some relief and perspective on death and dying, especially caregivers of elderly parents and the boomer generation as it comes to terms with the prospect of old age and mortality.

There’s nothing funny about dying … or is there? Malachy McCourt, Jacquelyn Mitchard, and 22 more share hilarious and moving stories of confronting death. Exit Laughing makes death more approachable as it reveals the funny side of “passing on.” As painful as it is to lose a loved one, Exit Laughing shows us that in times of grief, humor can help us with coping and even healing. 
 
Best-selling author Amy Ferris explains how her mother’s dementia led to a permanent ban from an airline. Ellen Sussman writes of flying her mother's body home and watching the burial wardrobe spill out on the baggage carousel. Broadway and television actor Richard McKenzie shares the riotous story of a funeral procession led by a lost hearse. Bonnie Garvin even manages to find a heavy dose of dark humor in her parents’ three unsuccessful attempts at a double suicide. These stories, along with tales from Joshua Braff, Barbara Graham, Dianne Rinehart, and more, constitute a book whose purpose is to remind readers that when dealing with illness, aging, and dying, there is an important place for laugh-out-loud humor.

  • Published: 15 July 2012
  • ISBN: 9781583944073
  • Imprint: North Atlantic
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 304
  • RRP: $45.00
Categories:

Praise for Exit Laughing

  • "From beloved husbands to difficult mothers and more, this moving and often fiercely funny collection illuminates with grace, humor, and a few belly laughs the way someone's death can change our lives."--Caroline Leavitt, New York Times best-selling author of Pictures of You
  • "In a culture where the discussion of death is basically taboo, the authors in Exit Laughing relate their stories with candor, compassion, love, and yes, humor. A perfect mix of gravitas and levity."--Sara Pritchard, author of Crackpots