Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Waking the Dead is a 1986 novel of obsessive passion by Scott Spencer. The book, Spencer''s fourth, was adapted into a 2000 film of the same name starring Billy Crudup and Jennifer Connelly.The book is a love story about two passionate liberals with vastly different approaches to their ideologies: Fielding Pierce is a lawyer and aspiring politician, and Sarah Williams is a social activist who despises the political system. During a mission to assist Chilean refugees, Williams is killed by a terrorist car-bomb. Years later, Pierce is offered the Democratic candidacy for an Illinois congressional seat, but during the campaign Pierce becomes convinced he has seen and heard Williams on several occasions.