Living Fully Dying Well

From Ira Byock, prominent palliative care physician and expert in end of life decisions, a lesson in Dying Well. Nobody should have to die in pain. Nobody should have to die alone. This is Ira Byock's dream, and he is dedicating his life to making it come true. Dying Well brings us to the homes and bedsides of families with whom Dr. Byock has worked, telling stories of love and reconciliation in the face of tragedy, pain, medical drama, and conflict. Through the true stories of patients, he shows us that a lot of important emotional work can be accomplished in the final months, weeks, and even days of life. It is a companion for families, showing them how to deal with doctors, how to talk to loved ones—and how to make the end of life as meaningful and enriching as the beginning. Ira Byock is also the author of The Best Care Possible: A Physician's Quest to Transform Care Through the End of Life.

Most of us try to avoid thinking about death - until the moment we come face to face with it. But when we have the courage to accept our inevitable mortality - and even to contemplate it actively, as a spiritual practice - we open the door to living fully, joyfully, and in complete presence. Living Fully, Dying Well is an investigation into the challenge each of us faces: to embrace all of life from the beginning to the end. When death approaches, many of us undergo a profound transformation - we let go of old distractions and focus with new clarity on what gives our life meaning. Yet we can invite these profound ''deathbed revelations'' at any point in our lives by engaging in an honest inquiry into our own mortality. Living Fully, Dying Well provides a doorway to begin your own exploration of the mysteries of death - from the cultural myths about dying, to the personal fears we all share, to the question of what becomes of us beyond this life. Living Fully, Dying Well unfolds as a dialogue between spiritual leaders and medical healers, each of whom brings a unique perspective to the universal human experience of death. These luminaries offer their stories, their insights, and their most valuable practices - all to transform death from a source of fear to an opportunity to reveal the true richness of your life.

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 practice of dying well. He gives guidance for those who care for the dying as well as for those who grieve. This book is a gentle companion for all who face death, whether one's own or that of a loved one. Christians can have confidence that because death is not the end, preparing to die helps us truly live. A decade after writing this book, Rob died in a hiking accident at age forty-one. This edition includes a new afterword by his wife, Clarissa Moll, reflecting on Rob's life, death, and legacy.

How do we talk openly and gently to children about living and dying? How should we talk with preschoolers differently than we talk with older children? This short booklet leads parents, teachers and pastors through simple tips for talking with children about these important issues. This convenient 8-panel booklet is offered in packages of 12 for use with church members, visitors, and family members. The piece is a part of Living Fully, Dying Well, a small group program designed to assist people of all ages in thinking about faith, life and mortality. The program focuses on making careful, wise and prayerful preparation for meeting life's most important moments. The booklets can be used with the program or as a general resource for your congregation. Other booklets in this series are available.

Most of us try to avoid thinking about death - until the moment we come face to face with it. But when we have the courage to accept our inevitable mortality - and even to contemplate it actively, as a spiritual practice - we open the door to living fully, joyfully, and in complete presence. Living Fully, Dying Well is an investigation into the challenge each of us faces: to embrace all of life from the beginning to the end. When death approaches, many of us undergo a profound transformation - we let go of old distractions and focus with new clarity on what gives our life meaning. Yet we can invite these profound ''deathbed revelations'' at any point in our lives by engaging in an honest inquiry into our own mortality. Living Fully, Dying Well provides a doorway to begin your own exploration of the mysteries of death - from the cultural myths about dying, to the personal fears we all share, to the question of what becomes of us beyond this life. Living Fully, Dying Well unfolds as a dialogue between spiritual leaders and medical healers, each of whom brings a unique perspective to the universal human experience of death. These luminaries offer their stories, their insights, and their most valuable practices - all to transform death from a source of fear to an opportunity to reveal the true richness of your life.

"How can you take the fear of death and turn it into something profound, something positive? What is the alchemy that allows someone who is in a metaphorical desert to turn around and see a flower?"--Tina L. Staley "Death--the last sleep? No, it is the final awakening."--Sir Walter Scott Most of us try to avoid thinking about death until the moment we come face-to-face with it. But when we have the courage to accept our inevitable mortality--and even to contemplate it actively, as a spiritual practice--we open the door to living fully, joyfully, and in complete presence. Living Fully, Dying Well is an investigation into the challenge each of us faces--to embrace all of life, from the beginning to the end. When death approaches, many of us undergo a profound transformation--we let go of old distractions and focus with new clarity on what gives our life meaning. Yet we can invite these profound "deathbed revelations" at any point in our lives by engaging in an honest inquiry into our own mortality. Living Fully, Dying Well provides a doorway to begin your own exploration of the mysteries of death--from the cultural myths about dying, to the personal fears we all share, to the question of what becomes of us beyond this life. Living Fully, Dying Well unfolds as a dialogue between spiritual leaders and medical healers, each of whom brings their own unique perspective to the universal human experience of death. These luminaries offer their stories, their insights, and their most valuable practices, all to transform death from a source of fear to an opportunity to reveal the true richness of your life. Living Fully, Dying Well has received the following awards: 2010 Gold Independent Publishers Award (IPPY)--Aging/Death & Dying 2010 Gold Nautilus Award--Grieving/Death & Dying 2010 Gold Living Now Award--Grieving/Death & Dying

Death is not waiting for us at the end of a long road. Death is always with us, in the marrow of every passing moment. She is the secret teacher hiding in plain sight, helping us to discover what matters most. Life and death are a package deal. They cannot be pulled apart and we cannot truly live unless we are aware of death. The Five Invitations is an exhilarating meditation on the meaning of life and how maintaining an ever-present consciousness of death can bring us closer to our truest selves. As a renowned teacher of compassionate caregiving and the cofounder of the Zen Hospice Project, Frank Ostaseski has sat on the precipice of death with more than a thousand people. In The Five Invitations, he distills the lessons gleaned over the course of his career, offering an evocative and stirring guide that points to a radical path to transformation. The Five Invitations: -Don’t Wait -Welcome Everything, Push Away Nothing -Bring Your Whole Self to the Experience -Find a Place of Rest in the Middle of Things -Cultivate Don’t Know Mind These Five Invitations show us how to wake up fully to our lives. They can be understood as best practices for anyone coping with loss or navigating any sort of transition or crisis; they guide us toward appreciating life’s preciousness. Awareness of death can be a valuable companion on the road to living well, forging a rich and meaningful life, and letting go of regret. The Five Invitations is a powerful and inspiring exploration of the essential wisdom dying has to impart to all of us.

"What colour is cancer?Why do some people appear to have made miraculous recoveries?How can you tell when someone is in the final hours of their life?How can we ensure our most vulnerable are treated with the dignity they deserve? In this unprecedented book, palliative medicine pioneer Kathryn Mannix explores the biggest taboo in our society and only certainty we all share: death. Told through a series of powerful stories, taken from her clinical practice, her book sends an urgent message to the living which answers the most intimate and fascinating questions about the end-of-life process with touching honesty and humanity.With the End in Mind is a book for all of us: the grieving and bereaved, ill, and healthy. Mannix rationalizes and explains what happens at the end of our lives, and argues that with planning, honesty and information death doesn't have to be either painful or terrifying. With at-times funny, poignant and always wise storytelling about how people die, Mannix has written a book of immense power and importance."--Publisher's description.