Customer Reviews

The Last Adventure of Life: Sacred Resources for Transition

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I think this book by Maria Dancing Heart is a treasure. We never really know what "The Last Adventure of Life" timing will be but if it holds the grace and feeling Maria has uncovered I know I will better for it. The feeling of caring warmth is what I take from reading it. In this time of cultural numbing and anxiety the world is longing for a breather, especially in the reminder that we all will die regardless of anything. On page 158 the evocation of "connecting" reads as a subtext to the book. This book is timely for me as I am still learning about living so that dying is sacred. Many pages touch me because Maria connects with her heart and that helps me find mine. As you can imagine, I very much appreciate and endorse this one. The book feels like a friend speaking about what matters in the space of sharing a ride on an open road.

The Last Adventure of Life is a book filled with the awareness of what loss and grief are truly about. After more than 10 years of caring for my beloved mom, I lost her on Christmas Day. My friends were a wonderful help, but I needed something for those moments at 4am when you sit up in bed and feel the profound emptiness of your life. The grief changes, life does go on, but for those moments in the first days, weeks and months, I can't recommend any other book more highly than this one. It is a treasure for anyone going through loss. Read it for your own life.

Reading small passages of this life-giving book has been truly wonderful. It transcends the usual books on spirituality, bringing together the integrity of spirit, body, joy, and discovery. I found the writing to be a grounding force that invites the reader to view new perspectives of the divine.

This book makes the perfect gift for anyone experiencing the passing of a loved one. It is a powerful book that will leave you with hope, inspiration and insight. I strongly recommend it as a valuable life resource.

Of course I love this book because it was compiled by yours truly. A review of it just came out through the New Consciousness Review, so I'm sharing it here:

"One of the chief reasons we have so much anguish and difficulty facing death is that we ignore the truth of impermanence..." Sogyal Rinpoche

"This is the most genuine, information-rich, readable, and hopeful treasury of reflections on living and dying I have had the pleasure of reading, written by a seasoned hospice counselor with the melodic name of Maria Dancing Heart, whom I suspect is actually two parts angel and one part spiritual counselor/hospice worker. Like the author's moniker, the poetry, stories, prayers, meditations, resources, sample teachings, inspirational readings, and support for the "last adventure of life" in these pages dance with love and compassion--and always reframing the experience of death to one of transformation.

"Although the author considers herself a Christian, her religion is a broad and inclusive spirituality. In the introduction she describes how she came to write this book saying, "I am learning that the spiritual journey is about opening up to love and to our inner guidance. Some religions and denominations seem to be better able to help people awaken to their spiritual nature. However, in the end, it is not our religion, but the full understanding and acceptance of our true essence that will save or heal us. It is through the way we live our lives every day--through our love and service, our joy and understanding--that we will heal ourselves and the world."

"If there were a master manual for living, this book would be first on the required reading list."The Last Adventure of Life: Sacred Resources for Living and Dying from a Hospice Counsellor

By Julie Clayton, New Consciousness Review
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