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Obit: Inspiring Stories of Ordinary People Who Led Extraordinary Lives
Like Everything I Really Needed to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten, or Tuesdays with Morrie, Obit is a wise and deeply moving book that illuminates the human condition. For ten years, Jim Sheeler has scoured Colorado looking for subjects whose stories he will tell for the last time. Most are unknowns, but that doesn't mean they're nobodies. Their obituaries are sometimes humorous, sometimes heartbreaking, and chock full of life lessons as taught by the people we all pass on the street every day. And thanks to Sheeler's brilliant and compassionate prose, it's not too late to meet them.
242 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
September 1, 2009
Jim Sheeler’s Obit is a short book full of short obituaries that is best taken in short stints.
Oh, and the title is short, too.
For a decade, the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist visited people in Colorado, writing the obituaries of their loved ones passed. These are your everyday folks, and even if they didn’t live the ‘extraordinary lives’ the book cover promises, it’s fairly interesting to see the diverse things people can make important in life (faith, military, work and all the little hobbies along the way). Many died of terminal illnesses and old age, whereas very few met tragic ends. Maybe that’s the way it goes most often in life, but the first half of Obit comes with a homogeny that suggests it could have been shorter. Thankfully, the second half starts to break the pattern. There’s a suicide, a hidden addiction, and loss of cultural identity—darker issues the lighter first half of the book didn’t touch. Part of it is that Sheeler wanted the book to be inspiring, but death is an ugly, awful mess most of the time and since the stories were often told by friends and family, many of the darker issues (and lives) can’t be included with that kind of a process, leaving a void in what the 42 obituaries—most four to six pages long, none over 10—should have covered. Additionally, the book is very Colorado-centric (in a limiting way) and the reader’s enjoyment of the lives replayed will often depend on shared interests.
Maybe it’s unfair to critique a book like this, being that it’s a series of remembrances and all, but it seems like Obit is one of those neat ideas that doesn’t quite work as a collection. With that said, I enjoyed over half of the obituaries included, eight of which stood out amongst that positive crowd. “After 624 Deaths, One More” is my pick of the collection as it tells of a nurse who worked in a hospice for most of her life until ending up at one herself, thereby giving a commentary on death as a whole. For all I could critique in Obit, by the end, I realized Jim Sheeler had attained exactly what he set out to do, showing that even the average person can teach you how to live. Three stars. Barely.
Oh, and the title is short, too.
For a decade, the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist visited people in Colorado, writing the obituaries of their loved ones passed. These are your everyday folks, and even if they didn’t live the ‘extraordinary lives’ the book cover promises, it’s fairly interesting to see the diverse things people can make important in life (faith, military, work and all the little hobbies along the way). Many died of terminal illnesses and old age, whereas very few met tragic ends. Maybe that’s the way it goes most often in life, but the first half of Obit comes with a homogeny that suggests it could have been shorter. Thankfully, the second half starts to break the pattern. There’s a suicide, a hidden addiction, and loss of cultural identity—darker issues the lighter first half of the book didn’t touch. Part of it is that Sheeler wanted the book to be inspiring, but death is an ugly, awful mess most of the time and since the stories were often told by friends and family, many of the darker issues (and lives) can’t be included with that kind of a process, leaving a void in what the 42 obituaries—most four to six pages long, none over 10—should have covered. Additionally, the book is very Colorado-centric (in a limiting way) and the reader’s enjoyment of the lives replayed will often depend on shared interests.
Maybe it’s unfair to critique a book like this, being that it’s a series of remembrances and all, but it seems like Obit is one of those neat ideas that doesn’t quite work as a collection. With that said, I enjoyed over half of the obituaries included, eight of which stood out amongst that positive crowd. “After 624 Deaths, One More” is my pick of the collection as it tells of a nurse who worked in a hospice for most of her life until ending up at one herself, thereby giving a commentary on death as a whole. For all I could critique in Obit, by the end, I realized Jim Sheeler had attained exactly what he set out to do, showing that even the average person can teach you how to live. Three stars. Barely.
December 19, 2007
About 50 pages in, I had already decided it was a five star book. It had already made me laugh, it had made me cry, and it had made me do both in public - that usually indicates a good book. And it was, 50 pages in.
Then, at 200 pages in, I sat back thinking "another story about the woman who kept up the tradition of using an old fashioned printer?" Oh, but this one was different - she published a newspaper instead of her own little newsletter, like the woman earlier in the book. Sure.
That was followed by the fourth or so story about the citizen of the dying Midwest town who became the unofficial historian, able to point out where the old gas station and former post office used to be. That was followed by the third story of the guy who loved his farm, by gum.
The juvenile delinquent who went on to become a hero in Iraq, and the subsequent posthumous presentation of medals? I cried. The brilliant teenage boy who was developing his own personal philosophy? Cried there too, but that happy, satisfied cry, knowing that there are kids like that out there. The couple who spent all their time together (the second one in the book, to be exact), to the point where he couldn't bear to survive her? Heartbreaking. Plus all the happier ones that have kind of slipped my mind. They're good stories!
But why are so many of them the same story?
Check it out if you like the everyone has a story to tell/real people as heroes/finding the beauty in daily life. But jump around, and skip over the stories that don't catch you.
Then, at 200 pages in, I sat back thinking "another story about the woman who kept up the tradition of using an old fashioned printer?" Oh, but this one was different - she published a newspaper instead of her own little newsletter, like the woman earlier in the book. Sure.
That was followed by the fourth or so story about the citizen of the dying Midwest town who became the unofficial historian, able to point out where the old gas station and former post office used to be. That was followed by the third story of the guy who loved his farm, by gum.
The juvenile delinquent who went on to become a hero in Iraq, and the subsequent posthumous presentation of medals? I cried. The brilliant teenage boy who was developing his own personal philosophy? Cried there too, but that happy, satisfied cry, knowing that there are kids like that out there. The couple who spent all their time together (the second one in the book, to be exact), to the point where he couldn't bear to survive her? Heartbreaking. Plus all the happier ones that have kind of slipped my mind. They're good stories!
But why are so many of them the same story?
Check it out if you like the everyone has a story to tell/real people as heroes/finding the beauty in daily life. But jump around, and skip over the stories that don't catch you.
August 28, 2020
The title says it all: "Inspiring Stories of Ordinary People Who Led Extraordinary Lives."
Obit presents the results of Sheeler's ten year search for stories alluded to in the obituaries of ordinary people appearing in local newspapers in his home state of Colorado. Stories of love, loss, perseverance and valor, of nobodies to the rest of the world, but beloved of family, friends and neighbors in their local community. The stories Sheeler relates, each on a few pages in length, are wonderful:
- Daniel Selzer's Code of Morals. Written when he was fourteen. We should al be so clear minded. A bright future cut short. He died only six months later.
- Sgt Travis Anderson, the town delinquent, who at 26 decides to make something of himself. He returns to and graduates from high school. Joins the army. He's dies shortly after on deployment in Iraq. The town mourns the man he became.
- John and Carmelo Scordo, who remained lovebirds through sixty years of marriage, dying four days apart. "She was calling to him or he to her."
- Harold Gray, a hard man, who at 100 set a goal to live to 105 so he he could finally get to know the son he'd ignored most of his life while building his many businesses. He becomes a new man - kind, gentle, a singer of tunes from his youth - and reconciles with son
They teach us that everyone's life is special in some way.
An uplifting read.
Obit presents the results of Sheeler's ten year search for stories alluded to in the obituaries of ordinary people appearing in local newspapers in his home state of Colorado. Stories of love, loss, perseverance and valor, of nobodies to the rest of the world, but beloved of family, friends and neighbors in their local community. The stories Sheeler relates, each on a few pages in length, are wonderful:
- Daniel Selzer's Code of Morals. Written when he was fourteen. We should al be so clear minded. A bright future cut short. He died only six months later.
- Sgt Travis Anderson, the town delinquent, who at 26 decides to make something of himself. He returns to and graduates from high school. Joins the army. He's dies shortly after on deployment in Iraq. The town mourns the man he became.
- John and Carmelo Scordo, who remained lovebirds through sixty years of marriage, dying four days apart. "She was calling to him or he to her."
- Harold Gray, a hard man, who at 100 set a goal to live to 105 so he he could finally get to know the son he'd ignored most of his life while building his many businesses. He becomes a new man - kind, gentle, a singer of tunes from his youth - and reconciles with son
They teach us that everyone's life is special in some way.
An uplifting read.
December 20, 2019
An interesting read, for sure. It's a collective of beautifully crated obituaries about people who may seem somewhat "regular" at first glimpse. I'm glad I read it. One, the second to last in the book, really got me: A mom who died at age 44 of cancer. My mom died at age 42 of cancer. It still catches me off guard how much that event, just a couple months shy of my 19th birthday in April of 1990, still impacts me today and how much mom still shapes who I am. This definitely had me in tears and re-thinking a number of things.
August 15, 2025
This book tells stories of normal individuals that passed away but lived unique lives. Jim Sheeler interviews families in Colorado about their family members that have passed away. He shares their stories in this book. The people live very different lives but have something to offer the world.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 16, 2017
I didn't love this book but thought it was really interesting. It showed how ordinary people just like you and I came to do really insane and extraordinary things. I specially like the story where the man loved the mountains since he was young and ended up climbing a bunch of mountains and becoming a type of researcher or ecologist for certain mountains.
May 17, 2020
This is an amazing collection of stories. Sheeler shows his prowess not only as a reporter and writer, but also as a master storyteller.
April 8, 2013
I picked this up because I thought it was a book full of actual obits, but found that the title is misleading and that is not what it is at all. That's ok because the book was about the inspiring stories of ordinary people who led extraordinary lives. This book is full of very wonderful and heartwarming stories of people ( Mainly from Colorado ) who led their lives giving to people. Just when you think all hope is lost and people don't give a damn about each other, pick up this book and start reading. Your faith will be restored. The stories in this book are about people from all walks of life, young and old who made an impact on others and still do after they have passed on. I highly recommed.
January 1, 2016
I started reading this book when I first got the job as an obit writer. I read a couple here and there to get the creativity flowing and I thought it only fitting that I finish it now.
It's weird, my thoughts on Sheeler's writing have changed so much over the past two years. At first I studied his writing for the craft and wanted to emulate his work because it was so great. Now, I find myself mentally editing for how I would change things, what I would take out or how I would do it differently.
It is a great book, though, full of stories of real people, and I would recommend for anyone looking for uplifting stories.
It's weird, my thoughts on Sheeler's writing have changed so much over the past two years. At first I studied his writing for the craft and wanted to emulate his work because it was so great. Now, I find myself mentally editing for how I would change things, what I would take out or how I would do it differently.
It is a great book, though, full of stories of real people, and I would recommend for anyone looking for uplifting stories.
May 22, 2019
I love this book for the simple reason my Father's story is in here. "The Marine who Wasn't Afraid To Cry"
I wrote a letter to the author about my Father the night he passed after we discovered so many things about him and he came to the funeral and wrote an obituary for him. Then he entered it into this book. He went on to win a Pulitzer for another book he did on soldiers. Plus the stories in this book are so touching and you feel like you knew the people he wrote about. That's why I wrote him in the first place. I loved his stories.
And I love that my Father made it into this book because he was extraordinary.
I wrote a letter to the author about my Father the night he passed after we discovered so many things about him and he came to the funeral and wrote an obituary for him. Then he entered it into this book. He went on to win a Pulitzer for another book he did on soldiers. Plus the stories in this book are so touching and you feel like you knew the people he wrote about. That's why I wrote him in the first place. I loved his stories.
And I love that my Father made it into this book because he was extraordinary.
December 30, 2014
I thought this book was okay. In the beginning, I loved it, but by the end of the book, it seemed extremely repetitive, and I was very bored. At least six of the stories were about men who loved their farm. Some of them were very interesting, but I think this book is best read in pieces, not all at once, like I did, because I got sick of it quickly.
October 4, 2021
I had to re-read this book recently, after the passing of my former co-worker Jim Sheeler. He was undoubtedly the most talented writer and empathetic interviewer I ever had the pleasure of working with.
This book is a masterclass in crafting a personal profile, in honoring a life and in reaching out with care and love to understand another human.
Some of the ledes are just stunning:
"The house stands in quiet defiance, at the center of a stereotype."
"Through the wispy cigarette smoke and the low roar of both laughter and sobbing, the barflies raise their glasses inside Northglenn Moose Lodge No. 2166."
"George Evans' life began alongside his twin brother, inside a padded shoebox."
"The other day they buried Billie the way she told them to — with her boots on."
How can you not want to keep reading these stories? And, more importantly, to get to know these people?
In addition to the great writing, these stories of everyday lives teach us important lessons about our lives — pay attention to the forgotten and overlooked people around us; give to others, even if you are not a wealthy philanthropist; be a good listener; treat your family and friends lovingly and well.
This book is a masterclass in crafting a personal profile, in honoring a life and in reaching out with care and love to understand another human.
Some of the ledes are just stunning:
"The house stands in quiet defiance, at the center of a stereotype."
"Through the wispy cigarette smoke and the low roar of both laughter and sobbing, the barflies raise their glasses inside Northglenn Moose Lodge No. 2166."
"George Evans' life began alongside his twin brother, inside a padded shoebox."
"The other day they buried Billie the way she told them to — with her boots on."
How can you not want to keep reading these stories? And, more importantly, to get to know these people?
In addition to the great writing, these stories of everyday lives teach us important lessons about our lives — pay attention to the forgotten and overlooked people around us; give to others, even if you are not a wealthy philanthropist; be a good listener; treat your family and friends lovingly and well.
August 4, 2017
I once saw in the Columbus Dispatch where a man had died. His family put in an obit AND his mistress. They both filled an entire column and it was amazing to me how different they described him. Both me were great but in different ways. LOL! I wanted this book to be along those lines but they were just about good people. Now that is not necessarily bad, but not what I was looking for.
September 27, 2019
A collection of emotion-filled stories about ordinary, yet marvelous people. Borrowed from a friend, I hate to return this book as it is so inspiring and wonderfully crafted. Full of life lessons, it will have you smiling, crying, and shaking your head in disbelief. Seriously needs to be read by everyone.
October 31, 2019
Rather than focusing on death, Jim Sheeler shines a light on the very ordinariness of lives lived and lost. His writing is very cinematic. If there is any overarching theme, it is that, despite tragedy, cruelty and obstacles, in each of us exists a resilience and a joie de vivre. Very uplifting!
Another great read through my OLLI class.
Another great read through my OLLI class.
December 16, 2021
I read this book for school and was very excited when I read the description. I had high hopes but the stories hopped around too much and it was hard to understand the story line. The stories also got very repetitive, a white man who loved his farm. I will say though some of the stories where very touching. Maybe it was just so boring because I read it over a long period of time.
July 26, 2017
I like Jim Sheeler's writing style. He always made the obituaries in The Denver Post seem so heartwarming and real. This book just expands on some of the interesting people he met writing obituaries. The people are all from Colorado and since I live in Colorado it was very interesting to me.
January 7, 2017
An interesting read, fairly well-written with short chapters to read as you find a spare moment. Overall okay, but not captivating or deeply meaningful.
January 5, 2018
Interesting stories about various people. I enjoyed learning about the individuals in this book and Sheeler did a great job of relating their information in a thought provoking way.
January 26, 2020
A collection of stories of ordinary people who cared for their fellow man.
July 27, 2020
Nice easy read. Loved this approach over the regular obituary format. So much to learn from others people lives
June 29, 2025
Heartbreakingly beautiful in its utter normalcy.
August 24, 2013
I dig obituaries. When I was a kid my Pop and I would peruse the daily obits and 'tsk' at how young they were, or try to guess what some obscure sentence meant. I still read obituaries in the Sunday paper.
Obit is a book of expanded obituaries. The author spoke to relatives and friends and created stories with more depth to them. My favorites were “A Lifetime Together, Four Days Apart” and “The Barflies Say Goodbye”. I have to admit that some of these stories were too trite to get a any real grasp on the personality of the deceased and often the stories meandered with no anchor, just an abrupt end.
Overall, a lovely little book with a great premise and quite honestly, you will know how each story ends.
Obit is a book of expanded obituaries. The author spoke to relatives and friends and created stories with more depth to them. My favorites were “A Lifetime Together, Four Days Apart” and “The Barflies Say Goodbye”. I have to admit that some of these stories were too trite to get a any real grasp on the personality of the deceased and often the stories meandered with no anchor, just an abrupt end.
Overall, a lovely little book with a great premise and quite honestly, you will know how each story ends.
March 28, 2016
I thought Obit by Jim Sheeler had an extremely interesting topic that it focused on: obituaries of people with seemingly ordinary lives. The concept, in my opinion, is quite brilliant and creative, somewhat reminiscent of today's Humans of New York blog. Some of the individual stories within the obituaries that Sheeler wrote were fascinating; however many of them lacked much interest to me because I couldn't get very invested in the individuals. I personally like to get attached to characters and people in books, so it was difficult for me to be content with only a few pages and minimal details about the person (though that is how obituaries generally are written). It's still a very interesting read.
November 12, 2011
I happen to come across this book by accident while I was looking for something else. What attracted me was the subtitle "Inspiring stories of ordinary people". I didn't give much thought about the title until I got the book home and then it occurred to me, Obit is short for Obituary. Did I really want to read a book of obituaries? I decided to give it a try and discovered that the book was filled with wonderful stories, each one describing what was special about a person. It's a good reminder that one shouldn't wait until someone is gone to think about what is really special about that person.
October 12, 2010
-The Colorado setting was sometimes boring. I feel like the book would be more interesting if the obituaries were from different states!
-Most of the stories were about men(like 80% of the book). I think it should have been even- I wanted to read more stories about women!
+My favorite story was 'A Lifetime Together; Death Four Days Apart'. It reminded me of The Notebook story, by Nicholas Sparks!
+A touching and inspiring book. I'm glad my professor recommended it to me :)
-Most of the stories were about men(like 80% of the book). I think it should have been even- I wanted to read more stories about women!
+My favorite story was 'A Lifetime Together; Death Four Days Apart'. It reminded me of The Notebook story, by Nicholas Sparks!
+A touching and inspiring book. I'm glad my professor recommended it to me :)
January 13, 2023
When I saw the title, I was hesitant, afraid this would be a depressing read. But once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. It's a fascinating look into the lives of 'everyday' people, a beautiful reminder that everyone has a story. This book makes you wish you knew these people, and it also makes you want to get to know the people around you better. I really enjoyed reading this book. Very well written!
June 23, 2009
This was a very quick read, though perhaps I shouldn't have read it at work (I teared up a few times). I really liked the idea for this - showing the lives of ordinary people who've passed away. I always thought being an obituary writer must be terrible, but Sheeler makes it seem amazing - you get to learn about the extraordinary tales of ordinary people. Very inspiring and touching.
June 24, 2008
I really love the concept of this book. there are many wonderful stories of well and fully-lived lives. I just wasn't crazy about the writing. It took you into the story, then changed time frames too rapidly. I need more warning before you do that to me. :)
December 7, 2013
I heard this guy speak at a workshop on narrative writing and was in awe of his ability to tell the story of someone's life once that person has passed. The stories are so touching and inspiring. He definitely transforms the idea of an obituary.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews