I'll Never Get Out of this World Alive

(Paperback)

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From celebrated musician Steve Earle comes a novel imagining the life, addiction, and redemption of Doc Ebersole as he is haunted by his former patient, Hank Williams. Doc Ebersole lives with the ghost of Hank Williams. Literally. In 1963, ten years after giving Hank the overdose that killed him, Doc is wracked by addiction. Having lost his licence to practise medicine, he lives in a rented room in the red-light district on the south side of San Antonio, performing abortions and patching up the odd knife or gunshot wound. But when Graciela, a young Mexican immigrant, appears in the neighbourhood in search of Doc's services, miraculous things begin to happen. Everyone she meets is transformed for the better, except, maybe, for Hank's angry ghost - who isn't at all pleased to see Doc doing well. I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive is a poetic ghost story, as well as a ballad of regret and redemption, and miracles.

Reviews

Steve Earle brings to his prose the same authenticity, poetic spirit, and cinematic energy he projects in his music. I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive is like a dream you can't shake, offering beauty and remorse, redemption in spades -- Patti Smith
A doctor, a Mexican girl, an Irish priest, the ghost of Hank Williams, and JFK the day before he dies. This subtle and dramatic book is the work of a brilliant songwriter who has moved from song to orchestral ballad with astonishing ease -- Michael Ondaatje
Earle's language is vividly poetic, his humour is never clunky and he always convinces, whether working on a cinematic or intimate scale -- Sharon O'Connell * Time Out *
A rich, raw mix of American myth and hard social reality, of faith and doubt, always firmly rooted in a strong sense of character * Charles Frazier *
Steve Earle writes like a shimmering neon angel -- Kinky Friedman

Author Bio

Steve Earle is a singer-songwriter, actor, activist, and the author of the story collection Doghouse Roses. He has released more than a dozen critically acclaimed albums, including the Grammy winners The Revolution Starts Now, Washington Square Serenade and Townes. He has appeared on film and television, with celebrated roles in The Wire and Treme. Frequently interviewed and profiled in the press, he often tours with his wife, singer-songwriter Allison Moorer.