Showing titles in Death & Dying

On his deathbed, Plato was asked to summarize his life's work. He replied: "Practice dying." In the 2,000 years since Plato offered this wise admonition, we have developed many practices associated with living. But what of the practices associated with dying? Being with Dying is a response to...

There are plenty of self-help books for mourners, but nothing in the way of a modern, approachable and above all useful field guide for the living. And all of us - young, old, sick and well - could use the help. After all, pregnant couples have ample resources available to them as they prepare to bring a new life into the world: Lamaze courses, elaborate birth plans, tons of manuals. Why don't we have a What to Expect When You're Expecting to Die book? 

In this thought-provoking memoir, an award-winning journalist explores the chaos, doubt, and search for meaning that come with staying one step ahead of cancer for decades. “An Exercise in Uncertainty has a powerful and restorative story to tell us. Jonathan Gluck’s life of illness and...

THE IRISH TIMES BESTSELLER 'A profoundly compassionate, educational reflection on death' - The Irish Times When death is a way of life . . . In A Life Among the Dead, David McGowan, Ireland's best known Funeral Director, and subject of the Award-winning Netflix documentary The Funeral Director...

A poetic, darkly funny memoir of one woman’s trip across the national parks straight into life-threatening illness and the joy that still holds us, no matter how much life hurts. “Unapologetically raw, defiantly humorous, this book is the bravest of journeys. . . . A memoir that makes no...

‘An inspirational call to arms’ DAILY MAIL ‘This book is so sensible, so substantially researched, so briskly written, so clear in its arguments, that one wishes Baroness Cavendish was still whispering into the prime ministerial ear’ THE TIMES ‘A thoughtful handbook to help societies...

I’ve worked as an intensive care doctor for over twenty years, caring for patients who are in the thick fog between life and death. I’ve met hundreds of people who have died, were resuscitated and lived. I’ve long thought that these are the people that we should be listening to, not...

On 22 May 2017, a bomb exploded in the middle of a crowd of young fans leaving an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena. Twenty-two people were killed and hundreds more were injured. Saffie-Rose Roussos, aged eight, was the youngest victim to die in the attack. She had been at the...

From accidents and bodies to contagion and ghosts, each letter unveils a new facet of our shared human experience with death. Delve into the peculiar choices for the disposal of your corpse, uncover the power of elegies and epitaphs, and venture into the realm of the paranormal. Reflect on the impact of climate change, explore the significance of war and ponder the mysteries that defy explanation. Learn the secrets of the ancient yew tree and celebrate death's place in cultures around the world.

THE INTERNATIONAL BEST SELLER FEATURING INTERVIEWS WITH DR ANTHONY FAUCI, DAME SALLY DAVIES AND DR JIM DOWN For every doctor there is that one patient, whose story touches them in a way they didn’t expect, changing their entire outlook on life. This inspiring and deeply moving book is the...

Tapping their personal histories and drawing on numerous interviews, authors Brook Noel and Pamela D. Blair, Ph.D., explore unexpected death and its role in the cycle of life. I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye provides survivors with a rock-steady anchor from which to weather the storm of pain and begin to rebuild their lives.

 From a dysfunctional family who turn their mother's wake into a full-blown riot, to funeral crashers looking for free meals, to a horse-drawn hearse taking the dearly departed for the ride of their afterlife, these accounts from actual undertakers will have you laughing, thinking, and gasping in disbelief. A literal graveyard of wild coincidences, slapstick humor, and touching moments, Over Our Dead Bodies explores the lighter side of the dead, the living, and the lone undertaker who has to make it all go as planned - even if it doesn't. 

Sometimes the truth really is stranger than fiction, and for Gary Renard—bestselling author of The Disappearance of the Universe—such was the case. In 1992, two ascended masters appeared before him to impart the teachings from A Course in Miracles. Before their arrival, Renard had never...

Bloomsbury presents Death By Shakespeare by Kathryn Harkup, read by Nicky Diss. A deep dive into the science behind the creative ways Shakespeare killed off his characters. William Shakespeare found dozens of different ways to kill off his characters, and audiences today still enjoy the same...

Dementia, heart failure and cancer are now the leading causes of death in industrialised nations, where life expectancy is mostly above 80. A century ago, life expectancy was about 50 and people died mainly from infectious diseases. In the Middle Ages, death was mostly caused by famine, plague, childbirth and war. In the Palaeolithic period, where our species spent 95% of its time, we frequently died from violence and accidents.

Death is a subject obscured by fear and denial. When we do think of dying, we are more often concerned with how to avoid the pain and suffering that may accompany our death than we are with really confronting the meaning of death and how to approach it. Sushila Blackman places death - and life - in a truer perspective, by telling us of others who have left this world with dignity.

This unusual and important audiobook is a series of reflections on death in all its forms: the science of it, the medicine, the tragedy and the comedy. Dr David Jarrett draws on family stories and case histories from his 30 years of treating the old, demented and frail to try to find his own understanding of the end. And he writes about all the conversations that we, our parents, our children, the medical community, our government and society as a whole should be having.

We tend to believe we have agency over our bodies, our minds and even our deaths. Yet emerging science challenges our assumptions of mastery: at the microscopic level, the cells in our bodies facilitate tumours and attack other cells, with life-threatening consequences. In this revelatory audiobook, Barbara Ehrenreich argues that our bodies are a battleground over which we have little control and lays bare the cultural charades that shield us from this knowledge.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A deeply moving memoir of illness and recovery that traces one young woman’s journey from diagnosis to remission to re-entry into “normal” life—from the founder of The Isolation Journals and a subject of the Netflix documentary American Symphony ONE OF THE...

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST OVER TWO MILLION COPIES SOLD This inspiring, exquisitely observed memoir finds hope and beauty in the face of insurmountable odds as an idealistic young neurosurgeon attempts to answer the question, What makes a life worth living?...