He endured every parent’s worst nightmare.

When writer-comedian Barry Friedman’s son died from a drug overdose one Friday morning, Barry was devastated–but not surprised. Paul’s death had been in dress rehearsal for years. The world alternately froze and galloped after Paul was found face-down in his room. Barry had to find a way to continue, to reject magical thinking and forge a meaningful path for the future. During the following four days, Barry dealt not only with his crushing grief but also incidents ranging from the ridiculous to the profound. What follows is not a eulogy but an elegy for the son he loved but knew he would lose. Barry writes with passion and pain about how to survive the worst life has to offer–and go on living.

It’s a wonderful book. This is a haunting, achingly honest account of an experience every parent fears more than any other–the death of a child. Barry Friedman is a superb writer; this compelling, compulsively readable book will stay with you long after you finish it. –Dave Barry, Pulitzer-Prize winning writer Told in sharp shards and jagged pieces that create a riveting and inevitable narrative flow, Four Days and a Year Later is brief, powerful, despairing, and yet ultimately, a hopeful expression of what it means to be human. –William Martin, NYTimes-bestselling author of The Lincoln Letter