Many of us fill our lives with so much work, entertainment, and fluff that we fail to consider the reality that our personal journeys on earth must someday come to an end. This collection of essays and articles points out that human existence is a fragile, terminal gift. Accepting that encourages us to live dynamic, purposeful lives. Combining insights from thought leaders in the fields of medicine, mental health, and religion, as well as hospice, funeral directors, and those who have faced life-threatening situations, the writers and editors of this book share their honest, open views about death, dying, and the possibilities of an afterlife. Enormously compelling and easy to read, the book calls us to engage in passionate, meaningful living in the here and now. Start making every day count with Reflections on Mortality. I found the book helpful in setting out so many issues surrounding our death and dying. His Eminence Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops I found myself asking, Why wasnt a book of this scope and impact available until now? It is a true gift to all of us. Robert J. Wicks, Psy.D., author of Perspective: The Calm within the Storm; Bounce: Living the Resilient Life

When author and counselor H. Norman Wright’s beloved wife, Joyce, passed away, he grieved the loss of his partner and the life they shared. Even in his state of sorrow, he knew he had to find a way to live without Joyce, to forge a hopeful path, and to move forward in God’s grace and strength. With vulnerability and emotional insight, Norm shares from his deeply personal journey and illuminates the way back to living when someone you love is gone. Readers who have lost their spouse will discover support and guidance as they work through anger, including anger at God, to ease toward God’s peace move away from denial and “what ifs” to move forward allow memories to provide comfort without getting stuck in the past create a healthy new, daily routine to care for themselves turn their new identity and life over to God’s leading and mercy This tender and inspirational book will help any reader who is grieving or who is walking alongside a grieving friend.

What happens when you come face-to-face with your mortality? As Russ Ramsey faced the possibility of death, he grappled with fear, anger, depression, and loss, and yet he experienced grace that filled him with a hope and hunger for the life to come. This profoundly eloquent memoir reveals that in the midst of pain, we can see glimpses of eternity.

Revised edition of the best-selling memoir that has been read by over a million people worldwide with translations in 29 languages. After too many years of unfulfilling work, Bronnie Ware began searching for a job with heart. Despite having no formal qualifications or previous experience in the field, she found herself working in palliative care. During the time she spent tending to those who were dying, Bronnie's life was transformed. Later, she wrote an Internet blog post, outlining the most common regrets that the people she had cared for had expressed. The post gained so much momentum that it was viewed by more than three million readers worldwide in its first year. At the request of many, Bronnie subsequently wrote a book, The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, to share her story. Bronnie has had a colourful and diverse life. By applying the lessons of those nearing their death to her own life, she developed an understanding that it is possible for everyone, if we make the right choices, to die with peace of mind. In this revised edition of the best-selling memoir that has been read by over a million people worldwide, with translations in 29 languages, Bronnie expresses how significant these regrets are and how we can positively address these issues while we still have the time. The Top Five Regrets of the Dying gives hope for a better world. It is a courageous, life-changing book that will leave you feeling more compassionate and inspired to live the life you are truly here to live.

This spiritual companion for mourners affirms their need to mourn and invites them to journey through their very unique and personal grief. Detailed are the six needs that all mourners must yield to and eventually embrace if they are to go on to find continued meaning in life and living, including the need to remember the deceased loved one and the need for support from others. Short explanations of each mourning need are followed by brief, spiritual passages that, when read slowly and reflectively, help mourners work through their unique thoughts and feelings. Also included in this revised edition are journaling sections for mourners to write out their personal responses to each of the six needs. This replaces 1879651114.

Mapping uncharted territory in the study of liturgy's past, this book offers a history to contemporary questions around gender and liturgical life. Berger looks at liturgy's past through the lens of gender history, understood as attending not only to the historically prominent binary of men and women but to all gender identities, including inter-sexed persons, ascetic virgins, eunuchs, and priestly men. Drawing on historical case studies, Berger explores traditional fundamentals such as liturgical space and eucharistic practice and new ways of studying the past.

The author, a prisoner on death-row for killing a police officer, presents a series of essays and reflections on his life and his spirituality.

Where do we go when we die? Or is there nowhere to go? Is death something we can do or is it just something that happens to us? Now in his ninth decade, former Bishop of Edinburgh Richard Holloway has spent a lifetime at the bedsides of the dying, guiding countless men and women towards peaceful deaths. In The Last Bus, he presents a positive, meditative and profound exploration of the many important lessons we can learn from death: facing up to the limitations of our bodies as they falter, reflecting on our failings, and forgiving ourselves and others. But in a modern world increasingly wary of acknowledging mortality, The Last Bus is also a stirring plea to reacquaint ourselves with death. Facing and welcoming death gives us the chance to think about not only the meaning of our own life, but of life itself; and can mean the difference between ordinary sorrow and unbearable regret at the end. Radical, joyful and moving, The Last Bus is an invitation to reconsider life's greatest mystery by one of the most important and beloved religious leaders of our time.

Inspiring teachings, personal stories, and meditations for those near death and their caregivers, by a respected Zen teacher who has worked with the dying for over 30 years. Everyone who lives must inevitably face death. Inspired by traditional Buddhist teachings and decades of work with the dying and their caregivers, this landmark work on death and dying by beloved Buddhist teacher Joan Halifax is a source of wisdom for all those who are charged with a dying person’s care, facing their own death, or wishing to explore and contemplate the transformative power of the dying process. Relevant and powerful for people of all backgrounds, her teachings affirm that all of us can open and contact our inner strength even in the face of death, and that we can help others who are suffering to do the same. Halifax observes that millions will have to deal with the loss of parents and loved ones and that we are largely unprepared emotionally for their deaths. She presents the notion that the process of dying is a rite of passage. Halifax offers stories from her personal experience as well as guided exercises and contemplations to help readers contemplate death without fear, develop a commitment to helping others, and transform suffering and resistance into courage. Topics and exercises include: Learning to see death as a rite of passage The guiding principles of bearing witness and how self-awareness can help us to relate more fully with others How to take care of ourselves when we’re taking care of others Contemplation on the universality of death How to transform pain and fear with lovingkindness And much more Coupled with a new foreword by Frank Ostaseski, a leader in the field of death and dying palliative care, the guidance and experiences represented in Being with Dying are invaluable in supporting and instilling peace as the journey of life unfolds and inevitably reaches not only an end, but also a new beginning.