Waiting for the Last Bus

Reflections on Life and Death

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Waiting for the Last Bus

By: Richard Holloway

Narrated by: Richard Holloway

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Where do we go when we die? Or is there nowhere to go? Is death something we can do or is it just something that happens to us?

Now in his ninth decade, former Bishop of Edinburgh Richard Holloway has spent a lifetime at the bedsides of the dying, guiding countless men and women towards peaceful deaths. In The Last Bus, he presents a positive, meditative and profound exploration of the many important lessons we can learn from death: facing up to the limitations of our bodies as they falter, reflecting on our failings, and forgiving ourselves and others.

But in a modern world increasingly wary of acknowledging mortality, Waiting for the Last Bus is also a stirring plea to reacquaint ourselves with death. Facing and welcoming death gives us the chance to think about not only the meaning of our own life, but of life itself; and can mean the difference between ordinary sorrow and unbearable regret at the end.

Radical, joyful and moving, Waiting for the Last Bus is an invitation to reconsider life's greatest mystery by one of the most important and beloved religious leaders of our time.

Richard HollowayRichard HollowayCanongate Books

Critic reviews

"Thought-provoking, revelatory, grave and comforting. It is impossible not to be moved by it in the most profound way" (ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH)

"An inclusive and hugely nourishing reminder to take stock of our mortality . . . Elegant, elegiac and thought-provoking"

"Holloway writes with passion and honesty at all times, and the result is compelling"

"Every bit as meditative, witty and elegiac as you would expect"

"The record of a mind too large, too curious and far too generous to be confined within any single religious denomination" (PHILIP PULLMAN)

"A wise, compassionate perspective on a persistently taboo subject. The pragmatism and gentle humour make it an unusually inclusive book. For everyone, however young" (COLIN FIRTH)

"Poignant . . . a subtle and consoling guide to dying" (CHARLOTTE RUNCIE)

"Thoughtful, playful, courageous and deeply altruistic . . . a fine companion for anyone who wishes to live a life of any depth" (A.L. KENNEDY)

"A wonderful, wise, compassionate and befriending piece of work" (KATHRYN MANNIX, author of With the End in Mind)

"Written with the integrity, intelligence and wit that we expect from Richard Holloway" (KAREN ARMSTRONG)

Most relevant

I listen to Audible in the middle of the night, just the time to be thinking about that destination and the journey so far! The sonorous voice of a Scottish clergyman comes weighed down for me with memories of dismal childhood Sundays and dire warnings of where the bus might take us. But this was, dare I say, uplifting. Music and compassion, human frailty and second chances, joyful acceptance of the possibility of finality...it was all quite calming, even inspirational in that it does make room for a last fling of the dice, even as the bus approaches.Just one complaint. The inclusion of poetry and art, and readings from past funeral eulogies was fine in small doses but got a bit formulaic, reminiscent of the structure of sermons.