End-of-Life Books

Mr. Beard seems loaded with all the right ingredients: curiosity, empathy, compassion, passion, drive plus blessed with an artistic eye all housed inside the form of a handsome athelete who has the resources and connections to make a difference in any cause he chooses to promote. His fascination with and respect for africa (decades before the dark continent became fashionable to take a deeper look at and "save"), ancient african tribal life, protecting and fighting for endangered animals,photographing sultry,statuesque fashion models and partying with influential socialites makes for a unique lifestyle...all celebrated in his spectacular photographs that enlighten, shock and amuse.He followed his adventurous dreams and ended up living a life more fantastic than anything hollywood could have imagined.He has successfully intersected the worlds of high art, high fashion, high society and humanitarianism on his terms to serve his needs.
Reproductions of his legendary journals are my favorite part of the book. Mr.Beard's powerful daily journals are physically huge, overwhelmingly organic, almost living, objects that have been spontaneously, randomly, obsessively created with his photographs, magazine and newspaper scraps, notes, drawings, doodles, comments, collaged with multi-dimensional found treasures and debris (including blood) from his daily experiences more than qualify as important works of intense, raw, fine art...exposing the guts and soul of one very lucky man who made the most of all that he was given.

Peter Beards latest book is short on words and long on interesting pictures. It is the most varied in subject content that I've seen in his work. Some of the wildlife scenes are without equal. The only detraction is that it is short on narration. If I could have one wish, I would really like to have him sitting beside me and telling me about each picture. I guess another complaint would be that the book is much too short, I want more. I have two of his other works (Eyelids of Morning, and End of the Game) which are longer and thus more satisfying to an avid reader. Some of this book can be seen in the others. A perspective buyer would also be advised to get more biographical information on Peter Beard to understand the background of work.

Beautiful, brutal and inspiring. Each time I open it I find it more touching. It is one of the best gifts to give to someone who appreciates nature, Africa or photography. Peter Beard is a collector of memories and his journals are pieces of art.
As a child, I was impressed by Peter Beard's creativity and sense of adventure. As an adult, I appreciate that he has chosen to share his experiences through his books. He's a man who lives an extraordinary life! His photographs and journals are a must-see if you can catch them in a gallery, however, this book is the next best thing.

If you love Africa, her people and the wildlife, you will enjoy this book by Peter Beard. I first came across his very first published book 'The End of the Game'in 1965 featuring a fascinating look at East Africa's endless game animals and some of the colorful characters who hunted them. He recorded an Africa that is long gone. Subsequently his other works came out - 'Longing for Darkness', 'Eyelids of the Morning''Fifty Years of Portraits' and this title 'Beyond the end of the World' and I was fortunate to have some of them autographed. As always, Beard's photographs and diaries are a delight to read.

Judd and Lionel are desperately trying to get back home to Vicki and the others. They can't ever seem to, and this time they run into unbelievers, searching for believers without the mark. Will they ever make it home? And will the kids back at the Dial hideout stay or face the strange warning? Follow the kids through the toughest period in history. This is a good book, it kept me on the edge of my seat and wanting Book #35, The Rise of False Messiahs (this book is now available, along with Book #36, Ominous Choices.) The recommended ages for these books are ages 10-14. I've liked this series and it's very informative about the rapture, the Tribulation, and the Great Tribulation.

I have always enjoyed the adult series of Left Behind books. The kids books are just as good. The kids interact with the characters from the adult series, experience the same events, etc. However, since the main characters are teens, these books can appeal to younger readers. So far, the stories haven't had the ups and downs that the adult series has had. The adult series has books that are a lot more boring than others. The kids series seems to be good in every book. These are not for really young kids, but would be appropriate for young teens. I enjoy them and I am an adult.

I have just completed the box set containing books 31-35 and I am relieved that the author has attempted to deal with the topic of teen and young adult romance. I know that christian youngsters have all the same emotions as other teens and the difference is in how they have been taught to handle those feelings not to avoid the reality of their feelings.
I enjoy this series very much and I hope that character development continues to be a key priority as the facts of the Bible won't change but the journey of people you identify with will promote interest in Christ, Bible study and desire to create and become part of a church family.

I have read and own all books currently out (34 right now). This one, the latest one, is my favorite so far. It contains devolpments in Judd and Lionel's quest to find a way home, a new hiding place for the believers in the Dial home, and even a vist from a prophetic angel. Judd and Lionel are almost home when they run into, guess what?, bounty hunters. The book ends with you wondering what will happen to them both.

"Perhaps most important, we will provide tips on how to talk about the things that matter most to your parents. What do they value? Who is important to them? What do they want their lives to be like as they approach the final stretch of the road? If you understand the answers to these questions, you will better understand the choices they make about their healthcare." ~Linda Northlander and Kerstin McSteen

Linda Northlander and Kerstin McSteen deal with the very sensitive issue of discussing death and life-support treatments with your parents. Through this book, you can learn a great deal about medical terminology and the pros and cons of feeding tubes and orders like DNR and DNI, but may or may not be what your parents want. So, this book helps you and your parents decide what is best.

The chapters in this book include:

Planning a Discussion
Who's Who in Advance Care Planning
Healthcare Options
Opening the Discussion
Understanding Values and Goals
Assessing Decision-Making Ability
How to Talk with the Doctor
Completing a Healthcare Directive
Understanding Hospice Care
Kitchen Table Calamities

Grief support, hospice care and issues with honoring directives are also discussed. This book will be appreciated by caregivers and by the person who knows they will need to be making many of the main decisions in regards to healthcare for an elderly relative. While difficult to read about death, it does bring an understanding to the healthcare issues everyone faces at the end of life. You may also want to read this book if you are working on a Living Will/Advance Directive. The last time I was in a hospital one of the first things the nurse asked me was if I had a Living Will, so this book may be useful for more than end of life issues.

~The Rebecca Review

Linda Norlander has given my family a wonderful gift. Her book served as the catalyst for a candid family discussion that, given current medical technology, I strongly feel all children and parents should have. Highly recommended.

As a physician working in the palliative and hospice care arena, 'Choices' is a welcome resource and guidebook for facilitating conversations on what people want at the end of life.

This book provides excellent background on why these 'kitchen table discussions' need to take place, and, more importantly, how to engage loved ones in these conversations. The examples are real and I believe many readers will be able to identify and relate to them. In addition, there are numerous resources listed at the back of the book, so that obtaining appropriate forms for documenting your parent's wishes will not be an impediment.

Our elders talk about this topic among themselves frequently. Now is the time to bring those conversations out into the open.

If this practical book isn't enough to get people started, I'd like to see Norlander and McSteen take the next step and organize community workshops whereby participants can practice the converstations and become even more comfortable raising these issues with their parents and relatives.

Thank you Ms. Norlander and Ms. McSteen

The book is a remarkably lucid explanation of why and how you should discuss the end of life with family members. It is a combination of practical "how to" and "what is" information about the kinds of choices that have to be made with terminal illness with examples of how real people have faced these choices. It is written with a somewhat wry humor and great compassion, from the experience of the authors, who work in the hospice movement, their own families and friends. Based on the notion that difficult, personal issues should be discussed over a kitchen table (or wherever everyone is most comfortable), it is essential reading for anyone who has older parents or who themselves will become old (which means pretty much everyone who is an adult). Highly recommended.

This is an excellent, readable book. It's perfect for those seeking to understand why Christians believe what they do.

This book makes a logical and reasonable case for the truth of Christ, the Bible, and the historic orthodox Christian faith. I have ready many books on apologetics and the Christian worldview, and this book is the most succinct and yet does not presuppose any extensive knowledge of Christianity. It is perfect for someone who knows little or nothing of Christianity but who wants to assess the claims of Jesus Christ and the historical reality of the biblical faith.

The author takes the reader through the simple reasoning (facts) why Christianity makes sense. He then proceeds to introduce how a person accepts Christianity as real. The last section deals with how a person can turn facts into faith into using this faith in everyday life. It is written so simply that no one should reject the book even if they don't agree with the facts presented. It is short and easy to read. Great for evangelism.

After reading this book, you have a good perspective on absolute truth in the God of the Bible. Not only does this book offer numerous arguements on why the God of the Bible is the truth, it offers logical arguements on why the God of the bible is the truth! I highly recommend this book to anyone who is agnostic or still searching for hard facts in a world full of confusing theologies. This book is also recommended for those who confess their Christian faith but often have troubles in apologetics and explaining why they believe in the God of the Bible. This is a must for every thinking persons bookshelf beucase it goes straight to the heart of hard to answer questions. I enjoyed the book mainly because it answered most of my questions with lavished accuracy and spared room for personal judgement on why or why not to accept the given arguements.

Many books have been written about the decline of American cities- but I have found none quite like this one.

Rae's book is not an abstract set of generalizations, but a case study of one city: New Haven, Connecticut.

The first half of the book begins by talking about the rise of New Haven. At the start of the 19th century, New Haven was just one of many small towns in south central Connecticut. But by 1910 it was an industrial powerhouse with 80% of the region's population. What went right?

Once railroads were invented in the early 19th century, intercity (between cities) transportation became much easier - but at the same time, intracity transportation was still cumbersome. So industry was centralized in a few downtowns, and most people lived within a mile of their work. And cheap energy (through coal and steam) benefited port cities which, like New Haven, lacked the power of falling water and thus did not have a large mill industry. Moreover, coal (unlike modern electricity) was also easier to transport between downtowns than within cities. So labor and capital were centralized in New Haven, which by 1910 was a crime-free, bustling, very urban place.

New Haven stopped growing as early as the 1920s, and started to shrink in the 1950s. What went wrong?

Rae lists a variety of factors- some that were beyond the control of any politician, and some that could have been controlled through more enlightened public policy.

In the first category, Rae mentions the rise of the automobile (which decentralized regions by making transportation within a region easier) and the rise of the electric power grid (which allowed cheap energy to go beyond regional cores). Television decimated the city's volunteer civic organizations, and national centralization of industry meant that local groceries were supplanted by regional supermarkets and New Haven's industries were bought by corporations headquartered in other cities and often moved around the country or around the globe.

In the second category, Rae criticizes highways that encouraged movement to suburbia, public housing projects that anchored low-skill people in urban cores that were losing low-skill manufacturing jobs, zoning that discouraged retail outside of a few commercial streets, New Deal housing agencies that discouraged investment in urban working-class neighborhoods, and urban renewal projects that bulldozed those neighborhoods in the 1950s and 1960s to build more highways and housing projects.

Was sprawl inevitable? Given the wide range of factors cited by Rae, some sprawl was inevitable- but the disastrous decline of New Haven probably wasn't.

This book chronicles the rich urban life of New Haven, CT, and the forces that brought about its decline in the postwar period. It dissects the misplaced theories underpinning the urban renewal movement and details the disastrous effects that these policies had on New Haven. While the book focuses on New Haven, the discussion is pertinent to urban renewal projects in dozens of US cities, and is of interest to anyone interested in the decline, and possible rebirth of urban life. One unique characteristic of this book is the quality of the writing: witty, insightful. Despite being a scholarly book, it reads like a novel. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in cities.

I found this to be an absorbing, detailed, and provocative political and social history of New Haven, with lessons and delightful insights for those interested in the future of our cities, suburbs, and communities. Only a well-respected Yale political scientist like Doug Rae, with the sophistication of someone who has experienced firsthand how policy and implementation collide, could have written as entertaining and perceptive a history. The book is an immense public service, and required reading for those interested in urban planning, redevelopment, and public policy. I enjoyed it thoroughly!

Rae spins a story like a novelist, but this book is really a tour de force, assembling an impressive amount of data to explain how well-intentioned urban planning policies failed, and how America lost its sense of what creates livable cities. It's a terrific read for anyone interested in the tale of American urban evolution in the twentieth century, and a must-read for those involved in urban planning, public policy and politics.

I've read this book a couple of times and it's truly alarming. I don't believe that's the intent of the author, however. He is simply giving us the facts about which we may not be aware, and exhorting us to prepare for the end of earthly times. Now of course, we never know what God's timeline is, but the point is to be prepared at *any* time to meet our Heavenly Father. Scoff though you may at what Mr. Hatch tells us regarding the dark and possible misdeeds of science, I know some of them to be true from personal experience.

I'll give you two examples. My daughter and her boyfriend both do research for a large university/medical facilities/research center. She is in the main facility, he works at the primate center. So you thought smallpox was erased from the face of the earth in 1977, did you? You thought it's no longer a threat to humankind, did you? Not so. Said boyfriend had to get a smallpox vaccination before he started at his new job, which is investigating post-HIV/AIDS infections on the little primates. He was given very explicit instructions on how to care for the oozing smallpox wound before it healed and scabbed over. An entire generation has not been vaccinated against smallpox, my daughter being one of them. Suppose something like smallpox was unleashed upon the world again, either accidentally due to a lab accident or by terrorists?

The second example is from the same university/medical facilities/research center. They were to have a purported drill that would simulate a "dirty bomb" that went off in the city (it's a major U.S. city), and the medical facilities were to be tested for response, preparedness, personnel availability, etc. The entire test was a comedy of errors from beginning to end. Just think of how badly the federal government, or even a state government, responds in times of domestic crisis. Not a pretty picture, eh?

Better say your prayers now, read the book, learn from it, and prepare to meet thy Maker.

This is a book about eschatology, the study of the end times. Well, sort of. More than being a study of biblical texts pertaining to the end times, it is a look at the present and future world in which we live. The author is a "futurist", which means he studies trends in technology, medicine, natural phenomena, etc., and makes predictions about where things are headed.

Early on, he sets the tone with the statement, "I believe the Rapture will happen within our lifetime." Even if you do not share this position, the vast majority of the book is still fascinating. Using the thematic structure of "The good, the bad, and the ugly", he talks about nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, biodiversity, natural disasters, nuclear proliferation, etc. In each area, there is potential for both great good and great evil, depending on the moral character of the person utilizing the coming advances in technology.

The author closed the book with the best chapter, exhorting Christians to godly, sacrificial, mission-minded living in light of the end of the world. I think we can all agree with him in this regard, no matter what eschatological position one holds.

This book is like candy - hard to put down once you pick it up. However, I cannot imagine reading it a second time, and due to the nature of the content, it will be outdated within a year or two. So, read and enjoy it now... and catch the next edition in a couple of years.

I am the editor of a magazine for a faith-based organization and received a review copy from the publisher. I've now read it twice and had been carrying it in my breifcase until I gave it to a friend today. So I just bought a second copy!
Frankly, this book frightened me more than anything I have read in a very long time. However, it ends with a focus on stewardship and evangelism and encourages readers to make a difference in our world in the time we have left.
Author Mark Hatch's credentials are impressive; he also has the ability to make highly technical sujects easy to understand, so THE END is NOT difficult to read.
Get this book-it is an absolute necessity! I am recommending it to ALL of my friends!

Genetic Engineering, Nuclear Neighbors, Religious Jihad. Are we living in the last days?

Futurist, Mark Hatch shares an alarming wake-up call on why many believe the end is near. This is an amazing and enlightening look into the future and how it relates to End Times, Mark Hatch breaks all the scientific and political aspects down into bite-size pieces, for those of us not so inclined. He reveals startling procedures that are now in progress.

With experts saying there is no way to determine whether our world will still be intact fifty years from now, Hatch has put together a collection of information about the end times that is short, to the point, and easy to understand. He gives accurate and succinct explanations of big issues in recent news and reveals the truth behind the hype.

This book will appeal to those with an interest in futurist studies. Scientists and futurists, both secular and Christian, are pointing to the same events as indications that the world may be in its final season. He also discusses probable scenarios for the end times, andcompares those with Biblical references to the last days.

The End is a call to attention for the people of the twenty-first century. Hatch sheds light on popular theories and addresses present-day concerns about the last days. Hatch explores what it means for

Christians that the end is near and emphasizes the necessity for living committed lives with the end in sight.

Armchair Interviews says: A reminder to live life right.

This audio book really got to me. It started out slow, with Nick, the main character trying to sort out how to deal with the death of his father in a car crash, and hearing a variety of "voices,"as he seems to wander in and out of reality. I found myself wondering where this strange beginning was going, but very quickly I was caught up in Nick's predicament. Several things take place later in the story that will break your heart. It is masterfully told by an outstanding narrator and I found myself wiping tears from my eyes on several occassions, as the story came to a close. Although the two-tape audio book is an abridgement, it is very powerful. I also like the way animals are strangely "drawn" to Nick. A real keeper...don't miss it.

I am a reader for a french publisher. I read this book some years ago and I loved it, but it was not bought by my boss. I did regret it, and I have since look for it in vain. Now I am so pleased to find it on Internet. It's one of the most heart breaking story I ever read, and I wish to share my admiration with my sons and you ! Do read it if you like poetic and realistic story. I'd like very much to let the author know much I appreciate his book. I never forget it, trough I read so many books a year. Thank you M. Lowry Lamb

I found this novel to be very moving emotionaly. It's structure and plot were well constructed and conceived and although you know where the story line is going you are suprised by the resolution.

"The End of Summer" is an awesome story, handling grief and loss realistically yet strangely...after all, how many people find solace and wisdom from puddles? Yet I could picture a lonely meadow where an injured soul could sort out their thoughts and receive "advice" from nature. Don't long walks often clear our minds and help us put life into a better perspective? This story is for someone who is trying to understand life and death, love and hate, gain and loss, or for someone who is just trying to reafirm or understand their spirituality. And what a powerful message for those who are intent on destroying all that is around us - "...everthing is part of the dance...do not break the beautiful rhythm of the universe..." Thank you John Lowry Lamb for your insight and images.

I brought this book for my 6yr old son who loves dinosaurs. We were very pleased the pictures jumped off the pages. The details in this book really bring dinosaurs to life.

The age range specified for this book, as listed on the amazon web page, is 4-8 years old. I'm not an expert on kids that age, & they undoubtedly would be interested in the illustrations, but the text of this book is certainly more advanced than that. Phrases like "preposterously outsized" (p. 28), "chalk-forming single-celled organisms (p. 51), etc. would make the text comprehensible to a bit older group than 4-8 year olds. I'm not complaining about the way the book is written (it's written in a very clear, very straightforward, & informative style, using simple language), I'm just referring to the claimed target age group. The illustrations range from OK to outstanding, although there is some redundancy (the terrific Giganotosaurus illustration is used for the front cover, spread across pp. 4-5, & the same illustration is used again on pp. 8-9 in a different setting). Although the scope of this book is quite limited (it is, after all, only 64 pages), there is a lot of interesting information contained on the dinosaurs it does cover, & there are explanations of basic (& not so basic) facts answering often asked questions (like the reason many dinosaur forelimbs are so short). Adults with some knowledge of dinosaurs can learn quite a bit here as well. For example, p. 26 shows a skeletal layout of a Velociraptor & Protoceratops that I've seen before but never fully understood. Author David Lambert explains what probably happened to cause the positions of these two dinosaurs. A good book to have in your dinosaur library.

I bought this for my three year old boy last year hoping he would grow into it. As predicted, at first he only paid attention to the impressive photos of the dinosaurs that dominated each two-page section: but a year later, he is drawn to examine the smaller pictures and ask more questions about the animals. This book works so well, I think, because it can appeal to a wide age range of children and has something of interest in it appropriate to every stage of learning.

The best educational point about this book IMHO is that the dinosaurs featured are not the familiar ones we see in all the other dinosaur picture books (T rex, Brontosaurus, Triceratops, etc), but the author chooses to focus on less-known types such as Barosaurus, Gigantosaurus, Gastonia and Coelophysis, to name a few. Broader subjects include social behaviors, environmental factors that influenced body types and hide patterns/colors, and speculation on possible fates of the dinosaurs. Supplemented with a more traditional dinosaur picture book, your child will eventually have an uncommon knowledge on dinosaurs.

DK Guide to Dinosaurs is also one of the more well-illustrated dinosaur picture books for kids in their grade school years. (Actually, the main "illustrations" are photographs of quality museum models in realistic diorama environments). The unusual design layouts are grounded on black rather than the traditional white, lending a sophisticated look to a subject that is all too often overly textbook-ish in other natural history picture books of this type. More importantly however, the sidebars, timelines and graphical inserts are packed with information and placed in a way that flows well with the main page, leading the eye to points of interest along the page and teaching kids in a more subtle style.

This would be a very good choice for children starting grade school and I can foresee many years when it will be used as a reference for reports and other school projects. My only criticism is that the binding will not take continual abuse from the smaller children in the family, so keep it on a higher shelf...

There are thirty chapters in all, each consisting of two pages with illustrations, graphs and descriptions. For the two-page spread on reconstructing the past, this is done in full-length, so the book must be turned another way for you to view this chapter. My son likes the Feet and Footprints chapter along with the Migration and Killer Instinct. You can see the " Powerful jaws were Tyrannosaurus's main weapon."

In the chapter, Types of Dinosaurs it is broken down into the periods of Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous. For the Heads and Skulls chapter it is mentioned, " Suchomimus had a long, narrow head like a crocodile's, and teeth to match." Prehistoric Earth breaks down what each continent was like during the time period, for Triassic Life" The first dinosaurs appeared in the Triassic Period, about 230 million years ago." For the Cretaceous World "The Earth began to take on its present form in the Cretaceous."

DK Guide to Dinosaurs is suited for children who are interested in learning everything you could ever want to know about Dinosaurs as well as Adults who are curious about them. If you ever had to write a book report this would be the book to purchase on the subject of Dinosaurs.

We have borrowed numerous books over the course of a year on Dinosaurs and I would place this book at the top of the list in gaining knowledge and the vivid illustrations that bring this period to life through the pages of DK Guide to Dinosaurs.

My seven-year old says there are many pages in this book and he reads it at leisure a few chapters at a time. You can gain insight into the social life of Dinosaurs, what their favorite food was as well as which ones were carnivores. There are illustrations of dinosaur eggs and the meteors that were thought to destroy the land of the dinosaurs. The most colorful page is the DinoBirds where you see the red and blue feathered DinoTurkey, and wonder whether the Velociraptor was a DinoBird too.

There is a lot to absorb in DK Guide to Dinosaurs but not overwhelming if you pick and choose topics of interest first and delve in slowly. Inside the index you can easily find where claws are discussed, nasal bosses, plants, asteroids, volcanoes and snakes to name a few. Dorling Kindersley acknowledged many photographs that were reproduced within DK Guide to Dinosaurs, which would make a great gift for any Dinosaur loving fantatic! For some kids just learning the names of all the Dinosaurs can be a fun challenge. This over sized book would sit nicely on a coffee table and be ideal for reading in a classroom environment a chapter a day.

This book was excellent. It gives a great insight into the beliefs of the Anglican Faith regarding the End of Life Care, and what we, as Anglicans, can do. I knew before I read the book, that the Church allowed us to forgo Life Support Measures, and Extraordinary measures including refusing artificial Nutrition and Hydration.

This book is a great resourch for any member of the Anglican Faith (Episcopal of Church of England, or member of the Anglican Community).

This is a really useful book for those who are approaching death and those who are critically ill and don't know what the outcome will be. I'm not Episcopalian, but felt really supported in terms of ethical and spiritual help when my father was dying and I read it.

Although specifically Anglican in perspective, the early chapters offer an understanding of death and its place in human life--including theologically appropriate uses of medical treatment/resources--that will be of value to all Christians (and others interested in what religious traditions have to say). After discussions of mourning, the church's role, and social policy issues like access to health care and the importance of palliative care, the book provides several very helpful resources for use in local parishes. This book by a distinguished panel of clergy, ethicists, physicians, and attorneys (not to imply that any of those categories excludes any of the others!) can serve as a useful resource for all who want to make the end of life a more faithful experience, both for themselves and for others.

When confronted by potentially controversial ethical issues, such as those surrounding death and dying, churches rarely distinguish themselves. There are a number of pitfalls. Knowing that they cannot please anyone, they may simply remain silent, abdicating their responsibility to provide moral guidance. Worse, they may make pious-sounding, but vague, pronouncemnts that address issues without actually saying anything. When take clear positions, they may have a hard time making a convincing connection to their own tradition. This work avoids all those pitfalls. The Episcopal Church's End of Life Task Force addresses issues such as assisted suicide clearly and concisely even as they respect the human anguish and moral ambiguities involved.

I am the author of this book. I wrote it because I've been helping people through the dying process for 30 years now and it's not that awful dark place that we are afraid to talk about. It is a beautiful, spiritual birth into another dimension where our loved ones can finally heal. It's part of the circle of life. And, I'm telling stories that are completely true about how it can be if we start facing our and our loved ones truth. This is what is going on. Now how can I help to make this as smooth and comfortable as possible? These stories tell the reader how. And, these stories show us how it's really not in our hands. Spirit is guiding the whole process if we can get our egos out of the way and let it happen. And, woven into the process there is still humor and memories that will fill our hearts when we learn how to let go and let God.

This book will show the reader that the true nature of the dying process is spiritual!

The author handles a subject that is so hard to talk about, let alone write about. She takes us along when she visits loved ones, friends and patients before they die. She shares word for word the conversations of these people who in most cases wanted total honesty. Because of her writing, I was able to face the same situation without stiffling myself and my feelings. Anything my dying relative and anything I wanted to say -- is said thanks to her frank writing. A must read.

I got my copy of "Final Passage" and sat down and read it in one day. Barbara Whitfield was so right about it being full of "aha's". I used a whole box of kleenex that day; it was emotionally wrenching, but I couldn't put it down. I have loaned it to my step-daughter (my husband,her dad died of cancer in 2001). She is having a very difficult time reading it because of the emotions it brings up, so she is taking one chapter at a time with lots of time in between.

I went ahead and ordered another copy along with "Spiritual Awakenings" I just started reading it and haven't had time to read much, but I wanted to say Barbara's books are very helpful for understanding some of life's difficult issues.

Below is a letter I sent to Barbara Whitfield after reading her book Final Passage. Please post this letter with her book information. Thank you very much.

Hello,

My name is Shirley and I just finished reading your book Final Passage. I loved it! I heard your interview on a local radio show a few weeks ago and you were discussing your book and it sounded very interesting to me. I lost my mother a year and a half ago to cancer and have been a little lost and confused since then. I wish I would have educated myself on the dying process before my mother died. I'm sure it would have made things easier. I feel better after reading your book. I was with my mother when she passed and I've always wondered what it was like for her in those last few moments. I believe your book shed some light on that for me. I was glad I could be there for her when she passed but it was really hard to watch. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed your book.

Have a Merry Christmas!

Shirley