I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive - Paperback

by Steve Earle (Author)

"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

Doc Ebersole lives with the ghost of Hank Williams. Literally.

In 1963, ten years after he may have given Hank the morphine shot that killed him, Doc has lost his license. Living in the red-light district of San Antonio, he performs abortions and patches up the odd knife wound to feed his addiction. But when Graciela, a young Mexican immigrant, appears in the neighborhood 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.

Front Jacket

If Jesus were to return tomorrow to twenty-first century America and do some street preaching on the gritty South Presa Strip of San Antonio, he'd love Earle's magnificently human, bighearted drifters. --Howard Frank Mosher "Colorful, cool, and downright gripping." --Robert Earl Keen Doc Ebersole lives with the ghost of Hank Williams--not just in the figurative sense, not just because he was one of the last people to see him alive, and not just because he is rumored to have given Hank the final morphine dose that killed him. In 1963, ten years after Hank's death, Doc himself is racked by addiction. Since he lost his license to practice medicine, his morphine habit isn't as easy to support. So 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, comes in search of Doc's services, miraculous things begin to happen. Graciela bears a wound on her wrist that never heals, yet she heals others with the touch of her hand. 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. A brilliant exploration of an obscure piece of music history, "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive "is also a wonderful novel in its own right, a ballad of regret and redemption, and of the ways in which we remake ourselves and our world through the smallest of miracles.

Back Jacket

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
Doc Ebersole lives with the ghost of Hank Williams. Literally.
In 1963, ten years after he may have given Hank the morphine shot that killed him, Doc has lost his license. Living in the red-light district of San Antonio, he performs abortions and patches up the odd knife wound to feed his addiction. But when Graciela, a young Mexican immigrant, appears in the neighborhood 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.
Praise for Steve Earle:
Earle s writing never lacks heart. New York Times Book Review
As he does in his songs, Earle finds the tenuous points of emotional connection between characters who are living not only on the edges of their own ability to cope, but often on the very margins of society itself. Rolling Stone
STEVE EARLE, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, actor, and activist, is the author of Doghouse Roses. He has released more than a dozen critically acclaimed albums and has appeared on film and television, with celebrated roles in The Wire and Treme.
www.steveearle.com

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Author Biography

STEVE EARLE, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, actor, and activist, is the author of Doghouse Roses. He has released more than a dozen critically acclaimed albums and has appeared on film and television, with celebrated roles in The Wire and Treme.