Faced in 2002
with the prospect of dying at the age fifty-five of a heart condition he
never knew he had, William Jefferson was forced to reflect on the things
that meant the most in his life. So, from his hospital bed, he started
to write about the people, surroundings, and situations that raised him.
Jefferson grew up in a small town on a farm in the rural South in the
fifties and sixties, and recounts those hard times here in short story
form. He shares the powerful lessons of family, religion, and
generational curses and blessings that flowed from those experiences.
Dying Is
the Easy Part shows that while the hard parts of life can
occasionally be conquered, life is more about being ready to die than
ready to live. Being ready to die is all about faith. As Jefferson
recovered in his hospital room, he realized that we spend our lives
worrying about avoiding death, when life is the real challenge.
The Stories in
this book are about African American, Southern life. But the stories are
not just for Southerners, and not just for Black Southerners. They are
for people who want to live without fear; for those who want success in
life, and also want to keep that success in perspective; for those who
want to laugh through situations where others are focused on the
negative; and for those who are inspired by the power of simple people,
people engaged in daily struggles. The stories are about people
who rise above the struggles to pass on life-sustaining lessons to their
children and families.
