Final Passage

We humans are so skilled in our denial of our dying that we may deny ourselves the beauty of discovering our personal capacity to heal. We hear the word heal and assume it means to be cured of a disease or frail condition of aging that we do not want.

Yet, healing truly means to become whole by exploring and bearing witness to the deeper dimensions of our being. When we make this journey within, we can discover the gift of retrieving what is eternally there…and finding the treasure of connectedness at the center of our life’s web.

Kitchen Table Wisdom – Stories That Heal
My Grandfather’s Blessings – Stories of Strength, Refuge, and Belonging
by Rachel Naomi Remen, MD
Through warm and poignant stories Dr. ramen provides an intimate look into the true nature of healing and living. Available individually or as a two-book set.

Find the books in your local library or order it online

Highly recommended:

GO TO: Rachel Naomi Remen’s website to purchase audio book versions read by Dr. Remen.

Being With Dying: Cultivating Compassion and Fearlessness in the Presence of Death
by Roshi Joan Halifax
Zeb Buddhist abbot and founder of the Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Roshi Joan bacons to explore the essence of coming to terms with th whatever disease has grabbed us and shows a path to live fully even in the face of dying.
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Professional Training: Being With Dying

A comprehensive professional training program for clinicians in compassionate care of the seriously ill and dyingdeveloped by Dr. Joan Halifax.
Learn more

Life’s Last Gift
by Charles Garfield
After four decades of training volunteers to sit at the bedsides of the dying, psychologist and Shanti founder Charles Garfield has created an essential guide for friends, family, and healthcare professionals who want to ease someone’s final days but don’t know where to begin. Garfield presents practical advice about finding connection, honesty, and peace while being of the greatest service to those at the end of life. By focusing on the reciprocal and healing relationship between the living and the dying, which continues until the last breath, he offers a path toward clarity and wholeness, and even growth.
Find it at a local library or order it online

Close to the Bone
Life-Threatening IIlness as a Soul Journey
Joan Shined Bolen, MD
The author demonstrates the value of an inward journey to discover the peace that we know “in our bones” and how that contributes to healing especially when we face a life threatening condition. A fine resource for those facing serious illness or for those who care for them. Tenth Anniversary edition.
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On Life After Death
by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross with Foreword by Caroline Myss
A collection of inspirational essays by pioneering and internationally known author Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. Based on her in-depth research of more than 20,000 people who had near-death experiences, revealing the afterlife as a return to wholeness of spirit. With frank and compassionate advice for those dealing with terminal illness or the death of a loved one, this book offers a compelling message of hope to the living, so that they may grow stronger from tragedy and live life to the fullest. Features a new foreword by Caroline Myss.
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Death: The Greatest Teacher
Judith Leaf article in The Lion’s Roar
Read the article

When Things Fall Apart
Heart Advice for Difficult Times
by Pema Chödrön
Tibetan Buddhist Nun, Pema Chödrön leads a journey to look at our sudden pain and suffering ni a different way – that of leaning in to the experience and finding peace and equanimity in the process.
Available as a book or audio CD recording.

With the End in Mind
Dying Death and Wisdom in the Age of Denial
by Kathryn Mannix. MD
A palliative care doctor guides us to see the possibilities for a peaceful experience of dying through the stories and lives of those in her care.
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Rituals & Wishes

From Beginning to End – the Rituals of Our Lives

by Robert Fulghum
Fulghum maintains that “the most powerful rites of passage are reflective when you look back on your life again and again, paying attention to the rivers you have crossed, the gates you have opened and walked through, the thresholds you passed over”. A wise guide through rich consideration of even the most basic moments of living.
Find this book in your local library or order it online.

Wish of a Lifetime

Seniors who experience social isolation are more at risk for heart disease, high blood pressure – even dementia. Some researchers say it is just as hazardous to health as smoking. According to the National Council on Aging, nearly 1 in 3 socially isolated seniors expect their quality of life to get worse in the next decade. Seniors who experience social isolation are more at risk for heart disease, high blood pressure – even dementia. Some researchers say it is just as hazardous to health as smoking. According to the National Council on Aging, nearly 1 in 3 socially isolated seniors expect their quality of life to get worse in the next decade. The Wish of a Lifetime organization in both the USA and Canada enable small and large projects to help senior realize lifetime wishes and day to day connection.

Wish of a Lifetime – USA

Wish of a Lifetime – Canada

Embracing Dying – Yielding to Mystery

Right Before I Die
Inspiring observations made by people just before they passed on and the questions that we might consider for ourselves.

Find the book version HERE
Watch a brief and inspiring video

How Doctors Die: Showing Others the Way
by Dan Gorenstein – New York Times
Read the article

Completing the Life Cycle – Soul Care
by Marcia L. Howland, PhD
Read the Article

Letting Go
What should medicine do when it can’t save your life?
Atul Gawande – New Yorker Magazine
Read the article.

Dying Well: Our Journey of Love & Loss
by Susan Ducharme Hoben
Dying Well is an inspiring love story about how a man celebrated his life while facing death with peace and dignity. An uplifting true story that offers a thought provoking perspective on dying, one that may help you and those you love achieve what’s most important at the end of your life.
Find the book in your local library or order online

Final Gifts
Understanding the Special Awareness, Needs, and Communications of the Dying.
by Maggie Callahan and Patricia Kelley
Written by hospice nurses, this gentle and informative book teaches us how to recognize and “decode” the often symbolic communications of those on the verge of death.
Find the book in your local library or order it online

Final Journeys
A Practical Guide for Bringing Care and Comfort at the End of Life
by Maggie Callahan
Designed to be your companion, resource, and advocate for the special needs of the dying and those who care for them from diagnosis through the final hours. This book will help you keep the lines of communication open, get the help you need, and create the peaceful end we all hope for.
Find the book in your local library or order it online

Caring for the Dying
A Doula Approach to a Meaningful Death
by Henry Fresko-Weiss LCSW
A book providing valuable insights and suggestions on how the end of our lives might be planned to allow for peaceful, nurtured and meaningful passage. Emphasis is placed on the space around the dying person and encourages the use of touch, guided imagery, and ritual during the dying process. Throughout the book Fersko-Weiss tells amazing and encouraging stories of the people he has cared for, as well as stories that come from doulas he has trained and worked with over the years.
Find the book in your local library or order it online

International End of Life Doula Association

LifeSpan Doulas

The Dying Process
Explanations of physical and mental signs that are common in the last day(s) or hours as a person nears the end of life.
Learn more

End of Life – Aging Matters
Nashville Public Television Reports
Most Americans say they prefer to die at home, However, 70% of deaths occur in the hospital, nursing home or long-term care facility. NPT Reports weaves personal stories of families alongside interviews with scholars doctors, and medical ethicist to explore the complicated experience of experience of dying and why so few live the death they say they want.

Sharing Life’s Joys, Sorrows & Wisdom

Tuesdays With Morrie
by Mitch Albom
A former student visits with his with his professor every Tuesday in the last months of life. This renowned book chronicle of their time together and Morrie’s parting wisdom on living fully.
Find the book in your local library or order it online.

Before Everything
a novel by Victoria Redel
A bittersweet and engaging celebrations of life, relationship, and caring between friends when one discovers that her life is soon coming to and end. She enters hospice, but has one last gathering of friends to share the joys, woes and remembrances of their friendship over the years. A sweet and humorous example of making the most of an inevitable event.
Find it at your local library or order it online

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