Showing titles in Death & Dying

Mortality is often on Joan Bakewell's mind. She's in her 80s, many of her friends have died and older relatives went long ago - and yet death is a topic we rarely discuss. It's become clear: we need to talk about death. In this groundbreaking series, Baroness Bakewell and expert guests discuss death and dying, exploring the choices open to us and confronting the questions we fear the most. 

"It takes an entire lifetime to learn how to die", wrote the Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca (c. 4 BC-65 AD). He counseled readers to "study death always", and took his own advice, returning to the subject again and again in all his writings, yet he never treated it in a complete work. How to Die gathers in one volume, for the first time, Seneca's remarkable meditations on death and dying. Edited and translated by James S. Romm, How to Die reveals a provocative thinker who speaks with a startling frankness about the need to accept death or even, under certain conditions, to seek it out.

The Bhagavadgita is part of the great Indian epic the Mahabharata, and it is one of the major religious documents of the world, occupying in Hinduism a position not unlike the Sermon on the Mount in Christianity. One of the most celebrated treasures of world literature as well, it is in the form of a poetic dialogue between the epic's hero, Arjuna, and his friend Krishna, believed to be an incarnation of God.

As late as the 1960s, the Wari' Indians of the western Amazonian rainforest ate the roasted flesh of their dead as an expression of compassion for the deceased and for his or her close relatives. By removing and transforming the corpse, Wari' death rites helped the bereaved kin accept their loss and go on with their lives. Drawing on the recollections of Wari' elders who participated in consuming the dead, this book presents one of the richest, most authoritative ethnographic accounts of funerary cannibalism ever recorded.

In his most ambitious work yet, Shermer sets out to discover what drives humans' belief in life after death, focusing on recent scientific attempts to achieve immortality by radical life extentionists, extropians, transhumanists, cryonicists, and mind uploaders, along with utopians who have attempted to create heaven on earth.

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...

Loss is painful. Separation hurts. We need comfort. Oblivious to our suffering, the world around us speeds on as if nothing happened. Stunned, shocked, sad, confused, and angry, we blink in disbelief. The pain can be immense. We look for comfort. We long for it. Grieving hearts need it to survive. Multiple award-winning author, hospice chaplain, and grief counselor Gary Roe has become a trusted voice to many hurting, grieving hearts.

Brought to you by Penguin. A brilliant young neuroscientist explains how to preserve our minds indefinitely, enabling future generations to choose to revive us Just as surgeons once believed pain was good for their patients, some argue today that death brings meaning to life. But given humans...

A compelling WW2 romance novel from an exciting new voice in historical fiction. When everything you hold dear is torn apart by war, can love put you back together again? It's 1943, and the Second World War is raging. Ruby Mottram works for her local newspaper, the Bartonford Herald, typing up...

Why would someone want to hang out with dead bodies? With curious anecdotes and unbelievable truth, funeral director Robert Webster reveals that answer and more, offering listeners entertaining and quirky stories gleaned from a life lived around death. Webster tackles those embarrassing...

Of the many critical conversations we will all have throughout our lifetime, few are as important as the ones discussing death - and not just the practical considerations, such as DNRs and wills, but what we fear, what we hope and how we want to be remembered. Let's Talk About Death (over Dinner) offers keen practical advice on how to have these conversations - not just at the dinner table, but anywhere.

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...

Was zählt am Ende wirklich? auf dem Sterbebett, wenn klar wird, dass das Leben sich dem Ende zuneigt? Nach vielen Reisen durch die ganze Welt, auf der Suche nach dem, was dem Leben Sinn gibt, findet die Australierin Bronnie Ware eine neue Aufgabe. Sie begleitet Sterbende in den letzten Wochen...

Vanessa's husband, Paul, dies suddenly and tragically on their regular Sunday morning swim. How will she cope with her dilapidated house, her teenage children, the patients who depend on her? Will therapy help? Why do mysterious white feathers start appearing in unexpected places? Beautifully written and honestly relayed, Vanessa uses her professional skills to explore the many questions posed by unanticipated death and to try to find a way forwards. 

A groundbreaking exploration of grief and racial trauma through the eyes of a Black end-of-life caregiver. Most of us understand grief as sorrow experienced after a loss--the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, or a change in life circumstance. Breeshia Wade approaches grief as...

After a near fatal stroke in 1995, Robert McCrum has gained an intimate understanding of his own mortality. Twenty-two years on, his friends have joined him in experiencing Prospero’s ‘every third thought’ of death as a dominating theme of life. McCrum asks: can we make peace with what...

Explores 15 promising avenues of post-materialist scientific investigation currently underway Provides a succinct account of the experience of transition to the “next life” and what one might expect when one arrives there Explains how materialism has prevented us from realizing a...

This spiritual story of love and loss is a dog's memoir on Life and the Afterlife. Told by the canine Jack from the other side of Rainbow Bridge, it is an easy listen with short chapters. This book is carefully crafted by the author who has three decades of clinical hospice experience. This first book in the Jack McAfghan Pet Loss Trilogy is designed to walk you through the grief of pet loss one step at a time. Its goal is to heal your grief by the end.

Face mortality with stoic calm and master mindfulness through the quiet philosophy of the medieval Japanese warrior. Whether you are navigating major life transitions or simply seeking peace in a chaotic world, this contemplative historical journey offers a sanctuary for reflection. Step away...

In the widening grey zone between life and death, doctors fight with doctors, families feel pressured to make tough decisions about their loved ones and lawyers are left to argue life-and-death cases in the courts. Meanwhile, intensive care patients are caught in purgatory, attached to machines and unable to speak for themselves. In Death Interrupted, Dr Blair Bigham seeks to help listeners understand the options facing them at the end of their lives.