Description

Dying in a VW Van, Samuel Ludke invites readers on a journey through the raw, aching, and beautifully fragmented moments of life. With vivid imagery and unflinching honesty, Ludke explores themes of love, loss, and the quiet desperation that often echoes through the spaces between. The title itself captures the essence of this poetic odyssey—a metaphor for the way we sometimes find ourselves lost, searching for meaning, even as we hurtle toward the inevitable.

The poems are alive with the pulse of nostalgia, the hum of faded roads, and the weight of memories that linger like smoke in the rearview mirror. As Ludke paints portraits of fleeting relationships, fading dreams, and the ghosts of past selves, the VW van becomes a symbol of both escape and entrapment, of journeys both literal and emotional.

Each piece is a testament to the beauty of imperfection, the messiness of being human, and the quiet moments when we confront who we are—and who we are becoming—amidst the chaos. Whether it's the echo of Marvin Gaye mingling with the raw energy of Guns N' Roses, or the slow unraveling of a heart once full of hope, Ludke's poetry captures it all in its most unguarded form.

Dying in a VW Van is a collection that will speak to anyone who has ever found solace in the sound of an old song, or wandered aimlessly through life, wondering if they're just passing through—or if they've already arrived. This is a book for anyone who has ever loved, lost, and lived with the weight of their own self-doubt, and emerged, somehow, still breathing.