Hitchens’ Widow: “He Insisted Ferociously on Living”   The new
world lasted 19 months. During this time of what he called
“living dyingly”, he insisted ferociously on living, and his
constitution, physical and philosophical, did all it could to
stay alive.  Christopher was aiming to be among the five to 20
per cent of those who could be cured (the odds depended on what
doctor we talked to and how they interpreted the scans). Without
ever deceiving himself about his medical condition, and without
ever allowing me to entertain illusions about his prospects for
survival, he responded to every bit of clinical and statistical
good news with a radical, childlike hope. His will to keep his
existence intact, to remain engaged with his preternatural
intensity, was spectacular.  The whole piece is worth reading.
 Let’s say this: first, you feel the humanity of this
remembrance.  It is clear that Hitchens was quite a man.  He’s
the type of thinker and leader who I wish I could have talked
and laughed with.  He was an ou