I Was Born Dead: A Memoir [Paperback]

David Rehak (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 9, 2009

In this highly personal and confessional semi-autobiographical memoir which reads more like a novel in the first person, Rehak tells us an engrossing and unique life history of being born overseas under the oppressive veil of communism, then escaping and growing up free in democratic Canada, living briefly in the conservative southern United States, and then making his home in the liberal atmosphere of Europe as an adult. He recounts his whole life right from his baby delivery (which didn't go too well) to the present-day. Writing in the same casual way that he speaks, he especially likes to focus on all the weird, amusing, and humorous happenings of everyday life, and this book will tickle your tummy with laughter, especially if you don't mind humor of a more irreverent and daring kind. You will also be deeply moved, as the author tells you about the great love of his life, the girl from Prague who forever holds the key to his heart. Includes over 70 photos.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...so very unique and unusual. I haven't seen a book quite like it before. --~Book Review Journal

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Young Adult memoirs are expected to be the next big thing in publishing, and this YA memoir makes great reading...

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace (February 9, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1441468641
• ISBN-13: 978-1441468642
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,869,213 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary and Unique, March 14, 2009

By 

Gwendolyn Chapman (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: I Was Born Dead: A Memoir (Paperback)

Reading David Rehak's new book is like looking into his soul. It is written as though he is speaking to the person reading the book, and the personal photographs he has included make the book even more personal. It's as though David has physically opened himself up, extracted all his thoughts/memories and somehow formed them into words that so aptly describe all his feelings.

He makes fun/light of himself as well as everyone else he mentions in the book. No one and nothing is spared - all events are told with some honesty and a whole lot of irreverence. Some of the events (like the sojourns with Pastor Cal ) have been "verbally enhanced" for a fun read. Well, at least most of the book is fun. Then, close to the end of the book, a love story unfolds. The ending of the book, as well as the love story, is very powerful and poignant.

I really like this book a lot - honest, funny, interesting, heart warming, etc. And in a way it is so very unique and unusual. I haven't seen a book quite like it before. Reading it is like listening to someone talk and spill their guts out about everything - very easy casual read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A 'Little Big Man' Style Memoir, May 10, 2009

By 

Paul Kyriazi "bondlife" (Los Angeles,, CA. United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I Was Born Dead: A Memoir (Paperback)

David Rehak's reminiscences have the magical feeling of Dustin Hoffman's re-telling of his life in the movie 'Little Big Man'. In the movie Hoffman traveled the west meeting up with interesting and bizarre characters as he roams the west learning as he goes.

So too does Rehak, as he starts from his birth, with involving details, as he roams America and then the Czech Republic. Frank discussions with people about life, death, politics and sex are given and sometimes forced on Rehak, making him think, re-act, learn and sometimes protect his mind from radicals he encounters on the way.

I think this memoir should be celebrated as a unique, off the wall, chronicle, much like Bob Dylan's poetic rambling memoir. Rehak holds a reader's attention and makes one ponder on what he would do in the situations that Rehak came upon in his life travels.

I really enjoyed this book. I took my time with it, reading it when I wanted to relax and get into it. I wish the title wasn't 'I was Born Dead', and more of a poetic traveling sounding title such as, well, I don't know after thinking for a minute, but I guess the author didn't want to sound like other memiors, so maybe it's okay. However, it reads great.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, June 18, 2009

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Was Born Dead: A Memoir (Paperback)

David Rehak was born in Czechoslovakia while it was under communist rule.

While a child, Rehak and his family decided to escape to the West. He grew up in Canada and now lives in the Czech Republic. In his memoir, Rehak tells the story of his life, starting from birth up to the present.

Rehak uses humor to lighten up the mood of his tough life story. While his tale doesn't have the perfect happy ending, the reader is taken through the whirlwinds - the ups and downs - of a man who survived, no matter what the cost.

While the words paint the story perfectly, it is only enhanced with the pictures that are seen throughout the memoir.

Reviewed by: Steph