Stories of how people cope after brushes with death. Sometimes death comes as a disease. Sometimes it swims up and bites you. And sometimes it's a pen or pencil, sitting there, just waiting for you to ingest it.
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Prologue
Ira talks to comedian Tig Notaro, who recently had a bunch of horrible things happen to her all in the course of 4 months. (3 minutes)
Act One
Act Two
Just Keep Breathing
A teenage girl gets bitten by a shark, rushed to the doctor's office, stitched up, and told she'll be totally fine. Crisis averted, right? Not so much. Ira tells the story. (21 minutes)
Act Three
A Real Nail Biter
Jessica Benko tells the story of a woman named Cathy who was almost killed several times... by a thought that she just couldn't get rid of. (15 1/2 minutes)
Act Four
The Sweet Year After
Tim Kreider almost died after he was stabbed in the throat. But that wasn't nearly as interesting as the year that followed. A version of this essay appears in Tim's most recent book, We Learn Nothing. (4 minutes)
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Act Three: Stiff as a Board, Light as a Feather
David Rakoff tells this story, about the invisible processes that can happen inside our bodies...and the visible effects they eventually have.
Act Four: Angry Young Man, Times Two
This is the story of two people—one in his late teens, one in his late fifties.
Act Three: Yes There Is A Baby
Myron Jones and his sister Carol Bove explain what happened when they were teenagers, and they ended up babysitting children who didn't exist.
