Although philosophy, religion, and civic cultures used to help people prepare for aging and dying well, this is no longer the case. Today, aging is frequently seen as a problem to be solved and death as a harsh reality to be masked. In part, our cultural confusion is rooted in an inadequate conception of the human person, which is based on a notion of absolute individual autonomy that cannot but fail in the face of the dependency that comes with aging and decline at the end of life. To help correct the ethical impoverishment at the root of our contemporary social confusion, The Evening of Life... View More...
Eddie is a wounded war veteran, an old man who has lived, in his mind, an uninspired life. His job is fixing rides at a seaside amusement park. On his 83rd birthday, a tragic accident kills him, as he tries to save a little girl from a falling cart. He awakes in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a destination. It's a place where your life is explained to you by five people, some of whom you knew, others who may have been strangers. One by one, from childhood to soldier to old age, Eddie's five people revisit their connections to him on earth, illuminating the mysteries of his m... View More...
William James referred to death as 'the worm at the core'' of man's pretensions to happiness. We are self-aware creatures whose minds can take in the universe, yet we must, without exception, return to dust. In this Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker explores the many ways in which man attempts to avoid the terror and inevitability of death. Becker contends that the ''denial of death'' pervades human culture and is one of the deepest sources of intolerance, aggression and evil. Drawing upon a diverse array of psychological and philosophical sources, Becker ar... View More...
Face to Face presents the basics of what Christians down though the centuries have believed about the life everlasting. Thirty-one meditations use the language of biblical symbols and the rich treasury of our classical tradition to witness to the joy, peace, and certainty of our confession. Belief in the life everlasting is not escape from this world. Rather, it frees us up for service here, brings reality to our worship, meaning to every day, strong motivation for correcting the ills of society, and at the end, assurance of victory over death.
One of the classics in the field of crisis intervention (Dr. Earl Grollman), Life after Loss is the go-to resource for anyone who has suffered a significant life change. Loss can be overwhelming, and recovery often seems daunting, if not impossible. With great compassion and insight, Deits provides practical exercises for navigating the uncertain terrain of loss and grief, helping readers find positive ways to put together a life that is necessarily different, but equally meaningful. With two new chapters and significant changes throughout reflecting Deits's ongoing experience in counseling, L... View More...
A Columbia University physician comes across a popular medieval text on dying well written after the horror of the Black Plague and discovers ancient wisdom for rethinking death and gaining insight today on how we can learn the lost art of dying well in this wise, clear-eyed book that is as compelling and soulful as Being Mortal, When Breath Becomes Air, and Smoke Gets in Your Eyes. As a specialist in both medical ethics and the treatment of older patients, Dr. L. S. Dugdale knows a great deal about the end of life. Far too many of us die poorly, she argues. Our culture has overly medicalized... View More...
A healing book for those in the wake of life's devastating storms.We can never plan for the unexpected turns of this life that sometimes lead to great personal suffering. Sometimes that suffering can overshadow everything and threaten to pull us under. Nancy Guthrie knows what it is to be plunged into life's abyss. Framing her own story of staggering loss and soaring hope with the biblical story of Job, she takes you by the hand and guides you on a pathway through pain--straight to the heart of God. Holding On to Hope offers an uplifting perspective, not only for those experiencing monumental ... View More...
"Albert," the neighbor said, "your mom needs you to come home." That's how it began for Albert Hsu when his father died. Anyone who has lost a loved one to suicide experiences tremendous shock and trauma. What follows is a confusing mix of emotions--anger, guilt, grief, and despair. Suicide raises heartrending questions: Why did this happen? Why didn't we see it coming? Could we have done anything to prevent it? How can we go on? Many also wonder if those who choose suicide are doomed to an eternity separated from God and their loved ones. Some may even start asking whether life is worth livi... View More...
On Children and Death is a major addition to the classic works of Elisabeth K bler-Ross, whose On Death and Dying and Living with Death and Dying have been continuing sources of strength and solace for tens of millions of devoted readers worldwide. Based on a decade of working with dying children, this compassionate book offers the families of dead and dying children the help -- and hope -- they need to survive. In warm, simple language, Dr. K bler-Ross speaks directly to the fears, doubts, anger, confusion, and anguish of parents confronting the terminal illness or sudden death of a child.... View More...
Fifty years after its original publication, a commemorative edition with a new introduction and updated resources section of Dr. Elisabeth K bler-Ross's beloved, groundbreaking classic on the five stages of grief. One of the most important psychological studies of the late twentieth century, On Death and Dying grew out of Dr. K bler-Ross's famous interdisciplinary seminar on death, life, and transition. In this remarkable book, Dr. K bler-Ross first explored the now-famous five stages of death: denial and isolation, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Through sample interviews and c... View More...
Who Dies? is the first book to show the reader how to open to the immensity of living with death, to participate fully in life as the perfect preparation for whatever may come next. The Levines provide calm compassion rather than the frightening melodrama of death. View More...
When words don't come easily, there are still ways to pray. For those who have experienced a sudden and terrible loss, it is important to realize that you don't have to do the things one normally associates with prayer to actually be connecting with God in a way that's prayer-like. Just sit still, if you like. Grieving people often find themselves doing a lot of sitting still. Stunned. Allow yourself a time to be quiet, to answer to no one, to accomplish nothing at all. Quietness in itself is where prayerfulness begins. This little book can be your entry to talking with God -- with and witho... View More...
Death will come to us all, but most of us live our lives as if death did not exist. Medicine has made dying more complicated and more removed from the experience of most people. Death is partitioned off to hospital rooms, separated from our daily lives. Most of us find ourselves at a loss when death approaches. We don't know how to die well. For centuries Christians have prepared for the "good death" with particular rituals and spiritual disciplines that direct the actions of both the living and the dying. In this well-researched and pastorally sensitive book, Rob Moll explores the Christian p... View More...
