He had a rough life, and it's not hard to see that impact in his work. I read many of his novels, back to back, in the Library of America collections, and by Ubik (my favorite of the bunch) I had the sense that he was barely holding together something moving downhill very quickly.
That energy suits his work in a lot of ways, though not universally, and can be monotonous sometimes.
I grew up in and around San Rafael where he did some of his most important writing and went through possibly the darkest chapters of his life. I always thought there should be a statue of him there...
Also I just felt I should weigh in because of my username.
Thats an excellent find, and an excellent idea! Id donate money to that gofundme. Also could have text from his scanner darkly afterword, gets me literally every time. Kindred...
That energy suits his work in a lot of ways, though not universally, and can be monotonous sometimes.