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.

"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 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.

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.

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.

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.

In his new book, Stephen Levine, author of the perennial best-seller Who Dies?, teaches us how to live each moment, each hour, each day mindfully--as if it were all that was left. On his deathbed, Socrates exhorted his followers to practice dying as the highest form of wisdom. Levine decided to live this way himself for a whole year, and now he shares with us how such immediacy radically changes our view of the world and forces us to examine our priorities. Most of us go to extraordinary lengths to ignore, laugh off, or deny the fact that we are going to die, but preparing for death is one of the most rational and rewarding acts of a lifetime. It is an exercise that gives us the opportunity to deal with unfinished business and enter into a new and vibrant relationship with life. Levine provides us with a year-long program of intensely practical strategies and powerful guided meditations to help with this work, so that whenever the ultimate moment does arrive for each of us, we will not feel that it has come too soon.

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.