finished reading

I don't remember where the recommendation came from for this book; the premise caught my interest:  an inept obituary writer has a few too many glasses of scotch and drafts his own relatively ludicrous obituary only to accidentally publish it in the paper.  The ensuing antics follow his attempt to get his life back on track.

The secondary characters are quirky yet real, very well-developed.  From neighbors of all ages to coworkers to his best friend, the people encourage our main character, Bud, to get it together.  This almost reads like a coming-of-age story set in middle age.  A drunken mistake with a keyboard can turn into a meaningful journey about what it actually means to be alive.

The audio narration is excellent at capturing the subtle wry and sarcastic humor.

From the publisher:

Bud Stanley, a 44-year-old obituary writer who is stuck in a professional and personal rut following a divorce. After a particularly disastrous blind date and a few too many scotches, Bud accidentally publishes his own satirical, fantastical obituary on the world’s largest news wire service.

The next morning, Bud wakes up to find that the world—including his employer’s automated HR system—believes he is deceased. Because of a bureaucratic glitch, he can’t be fired until he’s officially "resurrected" in the system. This "purgatory" allows Bud to embark on a bumpy, hilarious, and poignant odyssey of self-discovery, which includes attending the funerals of strangers and forming deep, quirky bonds with those around him. The novel explores the delicate balance between grief and joy, proving that sometimes you have to "die" to figure out how to live.