2DO BEFORE I DIE
The Do-It-Yourself Guide to the Rest of Your Life
Edited and Designed by Michael Ogden and Chris Day
Published by Little, Brown & Co
(Eight Languages)
What's important? What's possible?
One of the first non-fiction books to derive directly from submissions to a website, 2DO BEFORE I DIE features over 70 true first-person stories sent in from around the world that recount particularly memorable moments and experiences in people's lives.
And there's not a "swim with dolphins" story in sight! At turns thought-provoking and entertaining, 2DO BEFORE I DIE provides a revealing look at life. Along with brainstorming games and imaginative tips that encourage the reader to create their own life list of things to do, the book also features 70 compelling stories. These experiences range from small-scale recollections (Grow a beard, Have a penpal, Learn to swim) to more ambitious tales (Open a restaurant, Backpack around India, Record an album).
After two years of gathering these stories and more via the website, 2dobeforeidie.com (a Yahoo UK "Pick of the Web"), a genuine online community emerged. Having collected hundreds of submissions from all ages, authors Michael Ogden and Chris Day hope the book and the website will continue to "kickstart conversation and encourage the exchange of ideas."
2DO BEFORE I DIE is an inventive guide for a variety of ages -- for anyone who may be wondering "what's next?'...
Stories that appear exclusively in the book:
ROOTS - Own a boat - Meet my childhood hero – Find my natural mother – Go skate-boarding again – Return Home – Trace my family roots – EXPLORE - Backpack around India – Live in Italy for a year – Climb Mount Fuji – Write to a pen pal – Road trip across the USA – See a rainbow at night – Meditate in a Himalayan cave – Go for a good, long walk – Kayak through the jungle – EXPERIMENT - Streak naked – Grow a beard – Try a new food – Have my own place – Get a hobby – Build a stereo for my bike – Wear high heels – Do absolutely nothing – CHALLENGE - Parachute from a plane – Free-dive to the bottom of the sea – Run with the bulls – Climb a tree – Travel at the speed of sound – Walk on fire – GIVE - Repay my debt to society – Help someone in need – Sponsor a town – Help save an endangered animal – Work with the homeless – Join a protest march – Mentor a child – LEARN - Sing opera – Learn to fly a plane – Keep bees – Learn Italian – Graduate from college – Find a faith – Play the drums – Learn to swim – Pass on a skill – EXPRESS - Perform stand-up comedy – Get a tattoo – Stage a play – Sing in a band – Open an underground arts club – Get published – Record an album – LOVE - Ask out a total stranger – Fall in love – Honeymoon in the Galapagos Islands – Come out of the closet – Start a family – Give birth – Get married – WORK - Change my career – Be a school teacher – Run a Bed & Breakfast – Open a restaurant – Quit my job – LEGACY - Continue a family tradition – Watch my son grow up – Plant a tree – Follow in my mother's footsteps – Make a family cookbook – Build something that lasts – Start all over again
I love this book and I've made it a tradition to read it every year on my birthday. I've been writing in it and check off the things I've done that year.
One thing gets me... The last story; 'Start all over again'. I would love to know what happened with Margaret, 27, Washington D.C.
Posted by: Sam DeLaRosa | June 02, 2008 at 02:13 AM