Life's Work: A Memoir
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- Create Date：2022-09-05 20:21:39
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：David Milch
- ISBN：B09RF593HR
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Summary
The creator of Deadwood and NYPD Blue reflects on his tumultuous life， driven by a nearly insatiable creative energy and a matching penchant for self-destruction。 Life's Work is a profound memoir from a brilliant mind taking stock as Alzheimer's loosens his hold on his own past。
"I'm on a boat sailing to some island where I don't know anybody。 A boat someone is operating and we aren't in touch。" So begins David Milch's urgent accounting of his increasingly strange present and often painful past。 From the start， Milch's life seems destined to echo that of his father， a successful if drug-addicted surgeon。 Almost every achievement is accompanied by an act of self-immolation， but the deepest sadnesses also contain moments of grace。
Betting on racehorses and stealing booze at eight years old， mentored by Robert Penn Warren and excoriated by Richard Yates at twenty-one， Milch never did anything by half。 He got into Yale Law School only to be expelled for shooting out streetlights with a shotgun。 He paused his studies at the Iowa Writers' Workshop to manufacture acid in Cuernavaca。 He created and wrote some of the most lauded television series of all time， made a family， and pursued sobriety， then lost his fortune betting horses just as his father had taught him。
Like Milch's best screenwriting， Life's Work explores how chance encounters， self-deception， and luck shape the people we become， and wrestles with what it means to have felt and caused pain， even and especially with those we love， and how you keep living。 It is both a master class on Milch's unique creative process， and a distinctive， revelatory memoir from one of the great American writers， in what may be his final dispatch to us all。
"I'm on a boat sailing to some island where I don't know anybody。 A boat someone is operating and we aren't in touch。" So begins David Milch's urgent accounting of his increasingly strange present and often painful past。 From the start， Milch's life seems destined to echo that of his father， a successful if drug-addicted surgeon。 Almost every achievement is accompanied by an act of self-immolation， but the deepest sadnesses also contain moments of grace。
Betting on racehorses and stealing booze at eight years old， mentored by Robert Penn Warren and excoriated by Richard Yates at twenty-one， Milch never did anything by half。 He got into Yale Law School only to be expelled for shooting out streetlights with a shotgun。 He paused his studies at the Iowa Writers' Workshop to manufacture acid in Cuernavaca。 He created and wrote some of the most lauded television series of all time， made a family， and pursued sobriety， then lost his fortune betting horses just as his father had taught him。
Like Milch's best screenwriting， Life's Work explores how chance encounters， self-deception， and luck shape the people we become， and wrestles with what it means to have felt and caused pain， even and especially with those we love， and how you keep living。 It is both a master class on Milch's unique creative process， and a distinctive， revelatory memoir from one of the great American writers， in what may be his final dispatch to us all。
Reviews
Kim
，
Gosh I loved this。 The memoir works it’s way through David Milch’s life and then into his television writing show by show， or rather pitch by pitch as some of these sadly never made it to light。 Of note to longtime fans like myself will be the detailed insight into NYPD Blue stories as well as the story behind John From Cincinnati。 It’s heartbreaking to know that Milch is suffering from dementia。 Some of Milch’s own life and anecdotes told in this memoir would make good tv themselves。 Imagine a Gosh I loved this。 The memoir works it’s way through David Milch’s life and then into his television writing show by show， or rather pitch by pitch as some of these sadly never made it to light。 Of note to longtime fans like myself will be the detailed insight into NYPD Blue stories as well as the story behind John From Cincinnati。 It’s heartbreaking to know that Milch is suffering from dementia。 Some of Milch’s own life and anecdotes told in this memoir would make good tv themselves。 Imagine a series about young Milch at Yale。 。。。more
Dan
，
My thank to both NetGalley and the publisher Random House Publishing Group- Random House for an advance copy of this memoir/ confession of a writer looking back at what he can remember。 At the end I guess it all comes down to balance。 A skill at writing balanced by an addictive personality。 A great friend， with a bad father， success at his art， with millions lost to gambling。 A love of words and family， that slowly become forgotten as the day goes on。 David Milch，writer and creator of acclaimed My thank to both NetGalley and the publisher Random House Publishing Group- Random House for an advance copy of this memoir/ confession of a writer looking back at what he can remember。 At the end I guess it all comes down to balance。 A skill at writing balanced by an addictive personality。 A great friend， with a bad father， success at his art， with millions lost to gambling。 A love of words and family， that slowly become forgotten as the day goes on。 David Milch，writer and creator of acclaimed shows like NYPD Blue and Deadwood， has written a memoir of his life in Hollywood， growing up damaged and forgetting everything and everyone he knows。 Life's Work is a book that is haunting， beautiful， annoying hopeful and full of creativity and hope， just like the man who wrote it。 The book begins with his family， a father who was a doctor， but addicted to pills and gambling， a bond that the son would share with his father。 Alcohol came early as was betting the ponies with his father， a feeling Milch would spend most of his life chasing。 Attending Yale he was mentored by the writer Robert Penn Warren， who would become a second father to Milch， and began an association with the writer Richard Yates which was never friendly， even though Milch tried to get him jobs in Hollywood， later。 Fireworks， shotguns， run- ins with the cops were part of his college career， but so was learning to write。 Soon he found love with a wife who must have the patience of a saint， and Hollywood came calling with script work， more gambling， more pills and more drugs。 His show NYPD Blue broke new ground， his later show Deadwood was loved and acclaimed， unlike later shows which brought his old demons back with great cost。 And his health began to fail， and his memory began to lapse。 The book is extraordinarily written， balanced between a guy who loves his family， friends， and his art， but loves drugs， being a jerk， and gambling。 Milch has his reasons， I won't ruin anything， and his extracurricular activities hurt really don't matter， or shouldn't but to him everything seems to have a reason。 For a man who seems so real and now， he is very spiritual， and it comes across in the writing。 At points readers will not like this selfish jerk， in others readers won't see the page with the tears they have。 Especially in writing about his health now。 The worst part is reading about all the things Milch would like to have done， but knows he will not， an the pain he has caused his family， a pain he knows at this time he can never fix。 One of the best memoirs I have read in awhile。 Draining and beautiful。This is a book that is a lot deeper than I expected， even though I knew some of the health issues Milch was suffering。 He loves words， how to put them together to tell a story， and make a stranger across the country wipe their eyes even while typing a review。 A book for a lot of people。 Creative types wanting to learn the art of being creative。 Hollywood types who should learn not to give their Vicodin dealer points in a show， and how Hollywood accounting works， gamblers who might like the tales of the raceways。 Children of parents who are dealing with dementia， and for people facing a time when sundown means that everything they thought they knew is suddenly gone。 A really wonderful book I can't recommend enough。 。。。more
Andrew
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Oldh is obviously a great writer and creator of tv shows。 Deadwood alone places him in the pantheon。 But I didn’t live this book。 I，found the parts about his life， growing up and addictions fascinating。 Same with how，Deadwood was created。 And NYPD Blue。 But the lengthy discussions about the art and philosophy of creative writing were not that interesting， at least to me。 So a mixed bag。
Jackie
，
David Milch was a difficult person to like in this memoir。 He seems to revel in his drug addiction （even though he is a husband and parent。） Milch also gambles away thousands upon thousands of dollars， despite pleas from family to change his ways。 He writes about his years writing scripts for Law and Order and。NYPD Blues， but I found his writing style in this book to be very off putting。
Leslie Nipkow
，
David Milch's memoir， Life's Work， is a unique glimpse into the thoughts of a storytelling genius facing the loss of his mind to Alzheimer's and dementia。 He knows and observes what is happening， then lets us in on the experience from the inside in much the same way he illuminated his inimitable characters over the years。 Those include Deadwood's Al Swearengin， NYPD Blue's Andy Sipowicz， and many more， each of whom contains a dash of Milch。In his memoir， Milch shares his faults and missteps with David Milch's memoir， Life's Work， is a unique glimpse into the thoughts of a storytelling genius facing the loss of his mind to Alzheimer's and dementia。 He knows and observes what is happening， then lets us in on the experience from the inside in much the same way he illuminated his inimitable characters over the years。 Those include Deadwood's Al Swearengin， NYPD Blue's Andy Sipowicz， and many more， each of whom contains a dash of Milch。In his memoir， Milch shares his faults and missteps without apology or bravado。 He is what he is and built his writing process and personal life around his failures， addictions， and illnesses， from early OCD to his latest diagnosis。Milch's love of storytelling and the workings of his writer's mind infuse every page of his book。 It's very nearly a masterpiece on how to write character but never reads like a textbook。 Rather， Life's Work is a gripping read that avoids the slough of sentimentality that often pervades the "illness memoir。" This is no authorial attempt at redemptive wrap-up and we are all the better for it。 Milch finds his way through life by the art of storytelling and continues to do so with Life's Work， a superbly-written， frank， and generous memoir of a life of the mind from beginning to。。。 。。。more
Marika
，
Writer and television producer David Milch recounts his life， both personal and working in this sharp-witted memoir。 It begins with this sentence: “I’m on a boat sailing to some island where I don’t know anybody。 A boat someone is operating and we aren’t in touch。” These two sentences perfectly sets the tone of Milch's unease about his future after being over the recent diagnosis with Lewy Body dementia。 This is not an easy memoir to read and for many reasons， but it is a revelatory one for sure Writer and television producer David Milch recounts his life， both personal and working in this sharp-witted memoir。 It begins with this sentence: “I’m on a boat sailing to some island where I don’t know anybody。 A boat someone is operating and we aren’t in touch。” These two sentences perfectly sets the tone of Milch's unease about his future after being over the recent diagnosis with Lewy Body dementia。 This is not an easy memoir to read and for many reasons， but it is a revelatory one for sure。 If one didn't know it， this memoir would sound like a Hollywood screenwriting as it at times seems so unbelievable。。。but it is all fact。The facts include his all consuming gambling addiction where he lost millions of dollars annually， his drinking and stealing booze at eight， getting thrown out of Yale Law School and being expelled for shooting out streetlights， manufacturing LSD in Mexico and more。 What makes him all the more impressive is that he was able to write and create the highly popular series Deadwood and NYPD Blue during bouts of depression and being diagnosed and medicated for being bipolar （his words）This is not a tell-all memoir， not at all。 Rather it is self reflective work and one to be enjoyed at leisure。* I read an advance copy and was not compensated 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Life's Work: A Memoir
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Life's Work: A Memoir&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Life's Work: A Memoir&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0