Before I Die

Before I Die - Candy Chang

Before I Die by Candy Chang is an inspiring celebration of one of the most moving public art projects of our time. After losing someone she loved, the artist painted the side of an abandoned house in her New Orleans neighborhood with chalkboard paint and stenciled a single unfinished sentence on it: "Before I die I want to _____."

In this book Before I Die, you see what happened next. Within a day, the wall was covered in colorful chalk dreams as neighbors stopped and reflected on their lives. Since then, hundreds of Before I Die walls have been created by people all over the world. This beautiful hardcover brings together these public walls and the stories behind them. Filled with hope, fear, humor and heartbreak, it offers an intimate portrait of the dreams within our communities and a chance to ponder life's ultimate question.

The project became internationally known after Candy Chang shared it in a widely viewed TED talk. Its power lies in its simplicity: one sentence, a piece of chalk and a public space are enough to make strangers stop, think about what truly matters and share something deeply personal. Reading the answers, from the touching to the funny, is a reminder of how much we have in common.

A thought-provoking and uplifting book for anyone interested in art, life, mortality, personal dreams and the meaning of what we do with our time.