In 1979, at age 19, Michael Gaudet was diagnosed with end-stage renal failure. Thanks to a kidney transplant from his brother, Michael survived and later rose to prominence as a monumental Canadian mural painter. Dancing With Rejection: A Beginner's Guide to Immortality chronicles the untimely death of Michael's loving father, our hero's own near-death experience and his bohemian lifestyle in Canada of the 1970s and '80s. A cast of eccentric characters weaves us in and out of lusty tales of romance, gritty medical dramas, and encounters with the paranormal. Written like his murals, in large, bright swaths of sweeping narrative, this is a cosmic joy ride of a read.