Design for Dying - Hardcover

Leary, Timothy; Sirius, R. U.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 006018700X ISBN 13: 9780060187002

Publisher: HarperCollins, 1997

Synopsis

A flamboyant pop icon who recently died of cancer shares his thoughts on how and what dying can be, suggesting that readers take control of their own deaths, and offers a complete guide to death and dying resources, on-line tools, and further reading lists. $40,000 ad/promo.

About this title

Review:

‘Timothy Leary was a child of chaos in his own sense; Socrates was a child of chaos.’
Douglas Rushkoff

From the Back Cover:

TIMOTHY LEARY IS DEAD.

As the fringe guru himself put it, 'Mademoiselle Cancer moved in to share [his] body.' But in the days before he died, Leary – never one to miss an opportunity for a party – used his approaching death to create an exuberant new vision of what dying can be. Optimism, courage, joy, and spirituality were central to Leary's final days and his death. 'Design for Dying' – Leary's last book – shows us how we too can make dying the high point of life.

Irreverent, thought-provoking, and hilarious, Leary's parting shot pioneers new ways to die and new ways for the living to think about death. Urging us to take control of our deaths (and even to determine when and how we will die), Leary relates his own plan for "directed dying", a death we plan and orchestrate to reflect our own lives and values.

And the psychedelic prophet flings open a whole new range of beyond-death possibilities for the wired generation. From downloading consciousness onto the Net – so that our souls can outlive our bodies – to the ways technology can enhance the final days of dying to the far-out promises of cryogenics. Leary provides fascinating insights into how technology may eventually help us improve, and even sidestep, death. A thorough guide to death and dying resources and to on-line tools and further reading lists completes this surprising, funny, and totally original look at the new frontiers of death.

Speaking to everyone who has ever wondered if there's more to death – if there's life beyond the final frontier, if death really means the end, if dirges and hearses and funeral flowers are really how we want to be remembered – Leary's flamboyant final statement reveals revolutionary ways to die and redefines, with Leary's trademark creativity and joy, how the living can think about death.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 006018700X
• ISBN 13: 9780060187002
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 239