by Jeff Sharlet
—John D. Boy, Immanent Frame
“Writing in the tradition of William Least Heat-Moon and John McPhee, in Sweet Heaven Sharlet’s travels reveal people in place and time. The stories are at once humorous and sad, while the characters from all corners lead lives both fulfilling and desperate.”
—Shepherdstown Observer
“Jeff Sharlet’s subjects are first sketched physically, and then, over the course of a few pages, fleshed out in lush three-dimensional detail—a lifetime in a dozen pages, a biography distilled to its purest elements.”
—Daily Beast
“It’s in not knowing the ultimate answers, in leaving ourselves open to the possibility of change, that we can continue to draw hope. . . . Call it narrative journalism or creative nonfiction, Jeff Sharlet’s collection of feature-length pieces demonstrates his mastery of the form.”
—Ron Hogan, Shelf Awareness
“A fascinating tour through some of the darker, or simply more baffling, corners of American faith and spirituality. Sharlet proves himself a worthy guide.”
—Bookforum
“While reading and re-reading Jeff Sharlet’s Sweet Heaven When I Die: Faith, Faithlessness, and the Country In Between, a couple of songs replayed over and over in my head. His lovely and haunting collections of essays made my thinking musical. Perhaps, it is the beauty of his language, the lyrical quality of his descriptions, that direct me to hymns and pop songs. . . . Perhaps, it is because his reflections on religion, trauma, belief, unbelief, practice and loss feel like poetry.”
—Kelly Baker, Religion in American History
“A collection of powerful, moody, hopeful, sad, unsettling and even uplifting essays into the deepest realms of truth, belief, hope, and the blues.”
—Valley News (Lebanon, NH)
Excerpts from “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg, from Howl and Other Poems
(San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1956). © 1955 by Allen Ginsberg.
Lyrics from “Let’s Eat” by Mike Wiebe (aka Teko Buller), of The Riverboat
Gamblers. Used with permission.
“Down South Blues.” Written by Dock Boggs. © Stormking Music (BMI)
administered by Figs. D Music (BMI). Under license from The Bicycle Music Company. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
“Country Blues.” Written by Dock Boggs. © Stormking Music (BMI)
administered by Figs. D Music (BMI). Under license from The Bicycle Music Company. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
“Bad Moon Rising.” Words and Music by John Fogerty. Copyright © 1969
Jondora Music. Copyright Renewed. International Copyright Secured. All
rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of Hal Leonard Corporation.
Copyright © 2011 by Jeff Sharlet
All rights reserved
First published as a Norton paperback 2012
For information about permission to reproduce selections from
this book, write to Permissions, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.,
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For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact
W. W. Norton Special Sales at [email protected] or 800-233-4830
Book design by Dana Sloan
Production manager: Anna Oler
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sharlet, Jeff.
Sweet heaven when I die : faith, faithlessness, and
the country in between / Jeff Sharlet. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-393-07963-0 (hardcover)
1. United States—Religion. 2. United States—
Social conditions—20th century. 3. Sharlet, Jeff. I. Title.
BL2525.S53 2011
200.973—dc22
2011010974
ISBN 978-0-393-34423-3 pbk.
eISBN 978-0-393-08235-7
W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10110
www.wwnorton.com
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