On June 16, 2020, Junger found himself face-to-face with mortality in a way he’d never been. One minute he was enjoying quiet time with his wife at a remote cabin on Cape Cod in Massachusetts; the next, he was in excruciating pain from a ruptured aneurysm. Hours later, as a doctor inserted a large-gauge transfusion line into his jugular vein, Junger sensed his father’s presence in the room.

His father had been dead for eight years — and he’d been a scientist and a rationalist — but there he was, trying to comfort his son. It didn’t work.

Junger writes, “I became aware of a dark pit below me and to my left.” It was “the purest black and so infinitely deep that it had no real depth at all.” He was horrified, knowing that “if I went into that hole I was never coming back.”

Junger survived. Later, he had questions — lots of them. His memoir braids a journalist’s best efforts at answers with a sexagenarian’s complicated acceptance of the inevitable.

War is a damn fine book.

My old man suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm in the 80s, and lived.

i've enjoyed all of his books.

he does good work.

I seem to remember Biden had a ruptured aneurysm 30-40 years ago and look at the shit we got now.

I have always liked Junger's work, plus he was a hottie.  I only have best wishes for him in the future.

His is the bargain that every man is offered.

You are free to reject the existence of God right up to the moment of death….choose wisely.

i really enjoyed the perfect storm plus the movie adaptation.

the fact that he worked as a commercial fisherman to research the book makes him even moar badass.

Tribe was a very easy read.

This^

Will read this one.

My bass player's wife suffered an aneurism 12 years ago and survived because she was rushed to the hospital immediately from her office at work in a major city.
The only reason she survived and without any major side effects (50 percent die and 45 percent have long term side effects) was due to the fact that the neurosurgeon who operated on her was considered the best in the world.

Upon waking from a short coma she asked her husband why he had moved stuff around in their bathroom and taken stuff out of the bedroom. He just about fainted in disbelief as there is no way she could have known he did this. She explained that her and her father were visiting the apartment and that is how she knew. She then stated that her and her father were laughing about this and that they had visited a few other places from her youth and were busy reminiscing. (Her father had died some 20 years prior.)

When this fine surgeon checked on his patient over the next several days (she described him as a gruff Chinese fellow) he remained abrupt and impersonal, however a beautiful lady accompanied him each time and smiled a lot. She assumed this lady was a nurse or PA but was not sure. On his final visit before she was discharged the doctor appeared by himself. When asked about the 'beautiful nurse lady' who usually followed him he said he had no idea who she was talking about...

I had a history teacher in high school who was also a coach for the school.
He had a brain aneurysm when he was running track.
He said he could remember trying to claw and bite his way through a medical table, "To get away from the pain."
He recovered except he permanently lost his sense of taste and smell.

of course he's an atheist, and of course this didn;t change his perspective

Great writer, but he goes through all that and still can't bring himself to the obvious conclusion?

Ok then.

A "remote" cabin on Cape Cod?  I grew up on Cape Cod, there weren't any remote cabins 45 years ago, I doubt that has changed.

Absolutely right.

I thought he was dead. I must have him confused with one of the other Afghanistan writers.

His colleague, Tim Hetherington, was killed in Libya in 2011. They did that documentary, Restrepo, together.

Some people consider sitting in an RV camping.

He's a hack.

There are cabins out on Nauset 20 minutes drive from pavement.  You can only get there with 4WD.

I don't consider the cabins on Nauset remote, come out west I'll show you remote.

Come to South Sudan.  I'll show YOU remote.  lol.

Wow,

His books and movies are well worth the time to read, watch.
Restrepo is a movie I recommend to many people, most have never herd of it. They all seem to agree its a good watch.

IIRC, the fleas were so bad there, they wore those anti-flea collars that you put on your dog or cat.  Except they wore them around their ankles and on their belts.