Customer Reviews

Living Fully, Dying Well: Reflecting on Death to Find Your Life's Meaning

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
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Many people spend their entire lives ignoring or denying the reality of death. What makes this book valuable is that it has the courage to look at death full-on, from many different perpectives (some very practical, others very spiritual, and others impossible to categorize simply.)

Part I brings together three people who could be considered experts on death--Tina Staley who educates cancer patients and their families, Edward Bastien an American expert on Buddhist philosophy, and Rabbi Zalman Schacter-Shalomi. Their conversations offer the insights you might expect to overhear in personal conversations among three very intelligent, kind, and well-intentioned people.

The concern in part I is a balance between acknowledging the reality of death, coping with it when it touches us personally, and also remembering to embrace life fully. This later point is a running theme through the book--as the title suggests--and the authors do a good job (from the very beginning with Bastian's "bee story") of reminding us not only how to accept death, but how to embrace life.

Part II has interesting, thought-provoking exercises, meditations, and suggestions for living life fully regardless of what stage of it we find ourselves, or in what kind of health.

I found this book moving, thought-provoking, and helpful. More than that, every time I read through it, it reminded me to value life--in the moment--and not to take this amazing daily experience, this journey, for granted.

Highly Recommended. 5 Stars.

Our predicament is that we are supposed to live our lives well and enjoy ourselves knowing that our birthright is death. This book points the way to not just resign ourselves to that fate, but to live fully and passionately in such a way that we thrive in the midst of our dilemma. It weaves the Eastern and Western perspectives on life and death to produce a rich tapestry of wisdom and practical tools to utilize in "Living Fully, Dying Well."

I selected this book from the Amazon Vine program as a way to continue my reflection on the death of my youngest brother earlier this year. Several wise voices were brought together here in dialogue, integrating medical and spiritual insight on the meaning and process of death, and providing the reader with very practical exercises for working alone or with others. A rich and skillful resource for personal transformation.

This book is an honest and open-minded exploration of death and meaningful living that was prompted by the near death experience of the author. This book represents an inquiry that goes beyond western cultural and religious assumptions, myths, and dogma about the meaning of death life and death.

This book is divided into two parts. The first part of the book is a collection of various discussions and dialogues about living fully and dying well and the second part is a compilation of resources and practices for doing the same.

I think the best way to describe what this book is about is to share the questions that appear early in the book that drive the exploration and recommendations that appear later on.

From the book:

Living - How does an understanding of the process of dying help us to engage fully in our own life with meaning, purpose, and contentment? What examples and stories can help us to grasp this? How can I live my life in this way? How can I joyfully live my life in preparation for death? What meditations, prayers, mantras, visualizations, perspectives and attitudes should I learn and develop now so that I am ready for death at any moment?

Dying - The process of dying can be instant or it can last for hours, days, weeks, months, or years. What are the predictable stages of the dying process? How can we prepare for this? What tools and techniques can we acquire so that we can be content and purposeful in the dying process? How should we positively prepare and engage our family and friends in our dying process- psychologically, spiritually, emotionally, physically? How and when should we organize our living will, insurance, finances, possessions, businesses, and so on to prepare for the inevitable, yet uncertain time of our dying process? How should I plan for my own care if my death is slow, expensive, and painful? How should I involve family and friends? What are the options for helping me through the dying process, including spiritual guides, psychological counseling, treatment guides, assisted living, intensive care, home care, and hospice? How can I help my friends and loved ones in their process of dying?

Death - What is death? Is death the final act of our existence? Is death a process of transformation to another form of life? What happens when we die? What are the stages of death physically, emotionally, and intellectually? How can death become a meaningful, purposeful, transformative experience/ How can we be aware and conscious of dying and guide ourselves through it? How can we avoid fear and mental anguish? How can we do it with purpose and contentment?

Beyond- What do the worlds' spiritual traditions say about life beyond death? What is the philosophical rationale for life after death? What are the credible reports from both individuals and medical research about continued existence? How can I have knowledge and faith that I will continue to exist after my death/ How would faith in an afterlife alter the way I live m present life? How would my behavior and state of mind during my life, dying, and death influence the form, place, and quality of my continuing existence?

If you're interested in the answers to any or all of these questions, do yourself a favor and read this book for yourself.

"Living Fully Dying Well" is the kind of book that can open your eyes, if you are ready. Death is one of the few things in life that is guaranteed. We all will die one day. Yet nobody likes to think or even talk about it. Maybe people believe that it is bad karma and that they might bring death on quicker by acknowledging it.

The work of Edward Bastian and Tina Staley is meant to help us come to terms with our own mortality. The book consists of two parts. The first section is written in dialogue form, in which spiritual leaders of different faiths discuss topics such as living through dying, institutional care of the dying, afterlife and reincarnation.

Reading these dialogues made me feel inspired. There are so many life wisdoms in this book that it should become mandatory reading. One of the chapters discusses the importance of our elders. Even when you have arrived at the final stage of life, there is still meaningful work left for you. It is crucial for our elders to pass down their wisdom and experience to the next generation. But it is equally important for the new generations to put more value on the lessons they can learn from the older people.

Another chapter gave me goose bumps. In it a near-death experience is related in which the patient reported an out of body experience and seeing some of her deceased relatives. This just really touched me because it reminded me of a friend of mine who just had a similar experience. Her mother just died, and right before she passed away she said that she was seeing her own mother who was waiting for her. Somehow I find stories like this very comforting. It means that you are not alone at the end, and there is more to life than what we are seeing right now.

However, the point of this book is to remind us that all of our days are finite, and to compel us to live and love more fully and deeply. The second part of the book offers some tools to accomplish just that. It includes life review exercises, emotional healing, and exercises to prepare for death. Sounds morbid, but it's really philosophical and it will put life in perspective.

While written by a Buddhist, the interviews are with Christian and Jewish experts in end-of-life processing. So one can find comfort within one's own religion for facing the inevitability of death. Intellectually we know it's coming, but emotionally we all think that we may be the exception. The book has two sections: first the interviews and second exercises. In the interviews, the editor has inserted the names and page numbers of the relevant exercises in the second section.
The metaphor I have found most comforting is that our death is like taking our clunker of a car to the junk yard. The car is crushed, but we walk away.

I believe that all people should live with the DAILY knowledge that they will die.

The authors views on death are very interesting and I am glad I read this book. However, I don't actually need their views to be at peace with death.

Since the time I was a small child (when I was shown my grandfather in a coffin) I have known that death is a dreamless sleep of nothingness - and is absolutely inevitable.

I think about death almost every day. This keeps me humble, forces me to be kind to others, and even comforts me. I worry not about money. I worry little about anything. I enjoy being able to work - and workout. The simplest and most healthful food is a delight to me. Why worry when my life, and all other lives, will inevitably end. Why hate, or be vengeful, when knowing that our enemies will also suffer and die. This DAILY knowledge makes me love my loan of life, and causes me to more fully appreciate all else that I have borrowed.

Anyone reading my words must be aware that I have had a relatively easy life. Orphaned, living in Los Angeles foster care, and on my own since I turned 15, my life has been wonderfully exciting. Just know that, while I worry little, I do suffer when the "slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune" actually occur.

Get and read this book. It is fascinating! And it just might add to your joy of being alive.

Today marks two sad occasions; the death of icons Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. When celebrities pass we tend to become obsessed with their life's work, if only for a brief period. We also look at the superficial, the aspects that were privy to the public eye. However, when death strikes among family members, we are consumed with grief, a very different response. If one dares to consider his own demise, it becomes even more uncomfortable, with a swell of panic and uncertainty overwhelming the soul. This book reminds us that we each ARE going to pass, but the best remedy for death ambivilance is to, at the risk of sounding cliche`, live like one is dying.

The authors draw from various spiritual traditions to create a prism of grace and wisdom. The book is divided into two parts; the first ten chapters are devoted to delving into spiritual principles, including such hot button topics as the possibilties of reincarnation and purgatory (ironic, since the Catholic Church itself has moved away from the concept of "limbo"). The second part of the book provides exercises to engage the reader in an active understanding of the ideas presented in the first part. These exercises are created by the same authors who wrote the informational chapters, giving it a continuity of scope.

Death is a very uncomfortable topic. Nobody willingly investigates the moores of death unless they are forced by circumstance. However, this book would argue that this discomfort need not be the case. Once we embrace death as a natural part of life, with a joy of its own, we can open ourselves to learning of the true beauty the afterlife has to offer. Regardless of one's personal beliefs, the authors of this book provide food for thought, with respect for all viewpoints. Remove the fear and read this book!

What drew me in about this book was the paradox of Hunter S. Thompson saving the author's life, only to commit suicide later on. The author explains how Thompson called him an hour before his death and what if the author would have answered the call to hang out with Thompson instead of not being present for him. This set the book apart from what I usually read in the Eastern Religion field.

Being somewhat gothy most of my life, I do have an almost stereotypical interest in death. I feel it is healthy and maybe my attachment to it is overly positive, because confronting death offers you a chance to look at yourself in a way seldom seen. Through death, we live. It is only knowing our own morality that makes us want to go out in the world, to feel things and create.

The book explains the ideas of what after death would be, embracing ideas of afterlife and reincarnation. I personally like the latter because it seems to make sense with the cycles of nature. Yet it is my more logical skeptical side that says, maybe there isn't anything after this, so I need to worry a lot less about things I can't change and spend time working doing something I want to do, listening to music I want to listen to and being with the people I love. I lost a parent early in my life and nothing makes you want to life more than that, though there is a sadness that your parent can't see you enjoy the signposts of your life. I still decades later, dwell on this. Maybe I wouldn't if I thought my mother was looking down at me and smiling.

I am a sucker for books that have exercises to work with and the second half of this book contains exercises to help you cope with death as you live. A lot of it is mediating over what you think death is, how media influences this and how to chart your progress in life. I find the healing and transforming pain in chapters 13 and 14 to be most helpful within the context of my life. There are also many chapters devoted to exercises and practices of those in fields dealing with death or helping those with a loss.

I would recommend it to those who have a problem accepting that they die or have been having problems getting over deaths in the family or of friends.

This book provides input from a diverse group of contributors to help us look at how we can more fully embrace life as we confront our inevitable transition back to a non-physical identity. The contributors have varying views about what happens when we die, while their ideas tend to converge about how facing death leads us to live more fully and consciously. There are 2 sections in the book, with the first section including dialogues and discussion and the last section offering meditations and exercises to help readers have their own experiences and expansion of consciousness. Whether you are a Buddhist, Christian, Agnostic, or Atheist, this book offers valuable input to help process thoughts and feelings about death and life.