Interweaving the intensely moving stories of those who have met death and those who have accompanied them, with stories from ancient myth and legend, and insights gained from the author's decades of experience in guiding others on their journey toward death, this remarkable book may well change your approach to life.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Hospice leader N. Michael Murphy explores the spiritual lessons about living that only death can offer. "The wisdom of dying urges that the roles and masks of everyday life be set aside before it is too late since they often obscure the giving and receiving of caring and love," Murphy explains in his introduction.
Murphy's visionary approach to dying includes chapters on witnessing and participating in the life stories of the dying. In these precious personal and family stories, the lessons of living can be passed on, he explains. Hospitals would be transformed, he continues, if family members, doctors, and nurses gathered around a dying or deceased person, lit candles, and told stories of how that person affected their lives. In other chapters, he exposes how funeral homes and death rituals are designed to deny death rather than embrace it as a meaningful extension of life. He also discusses the specifics of caring for a dying person--including the stages of dementia and coma. This is an astute and comforting guidebook for living and dying with soul and dignity. As Thomas Moore writes in the preface, "Read it and live. Read it and die." --Gail Hudson
From Booklist
"Death is not a medical illness," psychiatrist and hospice specialist Murphy avers as he shows how the period around death can be a time of unique family healing and intimacy. Family members cannot say good-bye until they have said hello, he says, and dying can sometimes provide the opportunity to say both. Deep relationships are necessary to a fulfilled life, and the hospice environment can often lessen the fear of death and thereby help the dying person and other family members realize a loving, dignified departure from life. Murphy deals not only with the individual but also, through a variety of courses outlined here, with groups of individuals seeking help or wishing to provide help for others. Storytelling is an important tool in such work, freeing those involved in the final processes of life from false protective attitudes and helping them make relationships richer. This remarkably personal and realistic book offers much to the dying and the living alike. William Beatty
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Moving and Touches the Heart,
This review is from: The Wisdom of Dying: Practices For Living (Hardcover)
Michael Murphy reminds us that underneath our personality, roles in life, and even the experience of death is eternal life. Here, we are transcended from self-centered awareness into life-centered awareness. In this dimension of our being, our soul is revealed. The connections made on the level of soul in our relationships create invisible bonds forever linking us as children of the Comos. Thanks Michael Murphy for your insight into the sacred human path to love. -- Samuel Oliver, author of, WHAT THE DYING TEACH US: LESSONS ON LIVING.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
the best book on the subject in years,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Wisdom of Dying: Practices For Living (Hardcover)
It was very good to read this book filled with helpfull ideas and fresh approaches to ancient themes. As a human being I recognized many of the situations that were described and as a doctor I felt proud that it was one of us who wrote this book.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very thought provoking,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Wisdom of Dying: Practices For Living (Hardcover)
A thought provoking book that allows one to confront the face of death and accept it. Most people believe themselves to be immortal until the inevitable loss of a loved one happens. This book changes that once scary part of our reality cycle into something that helps us live a more mindful life. The exercise of seeing yourself go through your last days is alone worth the price of this book. I'm young so it's hard for me to buy into all that "love everybody" message but I suspect that's a fault of mine not the authors. A very well written book that is a must read for everyone.
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