Peace At The Edge Of Uncertainty is a very in-depth, personal look into the last moments of the life of Neil Hanson's father. The novel is written by Neil as a letter to his father, who passes some 15 years prior. It explores feelings, thoughts, and forgiveness throughout. We see pieces of Neil's life that could be considered mystical by believers of such things. He also relays religious beliefs and practices but doesn't use any particular name for the Higher Being; he uses G-d and uses various pronouns-He, She, It-to emphasize his belief that, while we all may believe in someone Higher, there is much that isn't known about this entity.
There were parts of this novel that were very touching, emotional, and hard to comprehend. I cannot imagine having to make the decision to remove all life support mechanisms on a loved one. Many people do it every day, month, year, even minute but it's not something that is easily forgotten or a choice that's easily made. Forgiveness was an underlying theme throughout the book and it makes you stop and think about your own life, and relationship you have your family and friends.
Some quotes from the book I though you would enjoy:
"I had been trained well to believe in logic, not in magic." pg. 20
"I believe that many people-perhaps most people-are desperately seeking a path toward a spiritual context." pg. 23
"On the one hand we held onto hope that something miraculous might happen, and you would recover. That hand also held in it a great deal of self-righteousness. Wouldn't it be immoral of me to bring about your death by withholding food from you -- starving you to death?" pg. 47
"On the other hand, I understood clearly that you would not want an existence of captivity within some sort of highly incapacitated or vegatative state. This hand also held within it a portion of self-righteousness. I would be fulfilling what I felt quite sure to be your desire given such a situation, and wouldn't it be immoral of me to prolong your physical life and deprive you of your ability to have your wishes followed in the final important matters?" pg. 47-48
In the Spring of 2011 I took an 8-week college class entitled "Death and Dying: A Religious Experience." Many things coincided with thoughts and feelings the author had such as the quotes I listed above from pgs. 47-48. There are so many "death" customs all based on tradition, religion, science, and situation. Some cling to G-d, or the entity believed in, to help endure the pain and suffering and eventual healing the comes with the death of a loved one. Others walk away outwardly unscathed but an emotional wreck inside. Some cling to family members or rationalize death with science. Everyone deals with loss in a different way. It is a courageous thing to bare your soul, talk about death, mourn, speak about things that may seem taboo (mystical happenings, miracles, etc.), and show your humanity on the pages of a novel.
