1. Anam Cara, John O’Donohue
"Anam Cara is a rare synthesis of philosophy, poetry, and spirituality. This work will have a powerful and life-transforming experience for those who read it." —Deepak Chopra
John O'Donohue, poet, philosopher, and scholar, guides you through the spiritual landscape of the Irish imagination. In Anam Cara, Gaelic for "soul friend," the ancient teachings, stories, and blessings of Celtic wisdom provide such profound insights on the universal themes of friendship, solitude, love, and death.
This is an incredibly beautiful and wise book about life and death. John O’Donohue explores the depths of the human soul and offers us a powerful balm for the tragedies of this world while illuminating the immense beauty and love of being human.
2. The Wild Edge of Sorrow, Francis Weller
The work of the mature person is to carry grief in one hand and gratitude in the other and be stretched large by them."
The Wild Edge of Sorrow teaches us to become an apprentice to our grief so we may open more fully to life. By coming into a reverent relationship with our sorrow, we connect deeply with our soul and can renew ourselves. He walks through the five gates of grief and offers such strong support through this book and his grief tending rituals. This is one I turn to regularly and have been re-reading for years. Yes!
3. Die Wise, Stephen Jenkinson
Die Wise does not offer seven steps for coping with death. It does not suggest ways to make dying easier. It pours no honey to make the medicine go down. Instead, with lyrical prose, deep wisdom, and stories from his two decades of working with dying people and their families, Stephen Jenkinson places death at the center of the page and asks us to behold it in all its painful beauty. Die Wise teaches the skills of dying, skills that have to be learned in the course of living deeply and well. Die Wise is for those who will fail to live forever.
Dying well, Jenkinson writes, is a right and responsibility of everyone. It is not a lifestyle option. It is a moral, political, and spiritual obligation each person owes their ancestors and their heirs. Die Wise dreams such a dream, and plots such an uprising. How we die, how we care for dying people, and how we carry our dead: this work makes our capacity for a village-mindedness, or breaks it.
4. The Smell of Rain on Dust, Martin Prechtel
Incredible look at the role of grieving in our healing and health of individuals and communities of people. Martin explores the connection between grief and praise in this beautiful offering.
5. Who Dies? Stephen Levine
Another beautifully written book helping us dive into our own relationship with our mortality and preparations for what may comes next. His calm, compassionate, and beautiful. outlook is healing and very pleasant to read.
6. The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, Sogyal Rinpoche
“A magnificent achievement. In its power to touch the heart, to awaken consciousness, [The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying] is an inestimable gift.”
—San Francisco Chronicle
Powerful introduction to the wisdom of Tibetan Buddhism on life and death. This provides so much insight and context and offers great expansion in our understanding of human mortality.
7. The American Book of Living and Dying, Richard Groves
This is an incredible book looking at our modern experience of dying. Filled with inspiration and applications to support anyone in their relationship with mortality. Highly recommended.
8 Being Mortal, Atul Gawande
#1 New York Times Bestseller
In Being Mortal, bestselling author Atul Gawande tackles the hardest challenge of his profession: how medicine can not only improve life but also the process of its ending
This informative read offers explanation of how the medicalization of death took root in North America and explores where we are now. What is the role of a doctor in dying?
