While my mother-in-law has been on hospice, we have been reading a book called Dying: a Natural Passage. The author, Denys Cope, is a Registered Nurse and a hospice nurse.
“Death must come out of the closet,” says Cope. “We must learn to accept dying as a normal, everyday part of life…as well as embrace the gifts that come with it.”
I especially like the fact that the author is open to all religions. She mentions that Buddhists reflect on death on a daily basis, and that’s true. We don’t obsess over it, but a gentle reminder in the middle of a prayer that
I must remember that death is quick to strike
For spirit quivers in flesh like a bubble in water
And after death one’s good and evil deeds
Trail after one like the shadow trails the body.
Is a good thing. My mother in law says this book has helped her, and so have other members of my wife’s family, so I highly recommend it.
