William J. Jefferson

Dying is the Easy Part William J. Jefferson

Faced in 2002 with the prospect of dying at 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. Sharing the powerful lessons of family, religion, racism, 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. As Shakespeare declared, "Of all the wonders in the world, it seems to me most strange, that men should fear, seeing that death, a necessary end, will come when it will come."

The stories within are about African American, Southern life. But they are not just for Southerners, and not just for Black Southerners. They are for people who want to live life 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. People who rise above them to pass on life-sustaining lessons to their children and families.