I’LL NEVER GET OUT OF THIS WORLD ALIVE
In this “witty, heartfelt story of hope, forgiveness, and redemption,” (Booklist) celebrated musician, actor, and activist Steve Earle shows that his talents are truly far-ranging and adds a “richly imagined” (Kirkus Review) novel to his list of achievements.
Rumored to have given Hank Williams the final morphine dose that killed him, Doc Ebersole lives with the famed singer’s ghost—and not just in the figurative sense. In 1963, ten years after Hank’s death, Doc has fallen to performing abortions and patching up the odd knife wound to feed his own addiction.
In this “witty, heartfelt story of hope, forgiveness, and redemption,” (Booklist) celebrated musician, actor, and activist Steve Earle shows that his talents are truly far-ranging and adds a “richly imagined” (Kirkus Review) novel to his list of achievements.
Rumored to have given Hank Williams the final morphine dose that killed him, Doc Ebersole lives with the famed singer’s ghost—and not just in the figurative sense. In 1963, ten years after Hank’s death, Doc has fallen to performing abortions and patching up the odd knife wound to feed his own addiction. But when a young Mexican immigrant appears in the neighborhood in search of Doc’s services, miraculous things begin to happen.
I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive is a brilliant excavation of an obscure piece of music history, a ballad of regret and redemption, and of the ways in which we remake ourselves through the smallest of miracles.
- Mariner Books
- Paperback
- May 2012
- 256 Pages
- 9780547754437
Buy the Book
$13.95
About Steve Earle
Steve Earle is a singer-songwriter, actor, activist, and the author of a Los Angeles Times Book of the Year, 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. His album entitled I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive was produced by T Bone Burnett. He often tours with his wife, singer-songwriter Allison Moorer.
Praise
"A deft, big-spirited novel about sin, faith, redemption, and the family of man … You keep reading and you keep believing."—Entertainment Weekly
“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
“Shot through with humor and insight and … enough action and intriguing characters in it to keep readers turning pages.”—Boston Globe
“Earle’s writing never lacks heart.”—New York Times Book Review