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Topic Guide

Next Chapter: Death and Dying (Fiction and Nonfiction)

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What does a “good” death mean? Explore multiple perspectives in fiction, beginning with the epic travels of Gilgamesh. Our nonfiction selections look at the experiences of hospice workers, death doulas, funeral directors, health professionals and family members. We hear the voices of individuals as they come to the end of their lives. Annotations from Kirkus Reviews, unless otherwise noted. Created by The Seattle Public Library Older Adults Program Manager and Readers Services librarians. (Created October 2020)

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Seattle_Quick_Picks

The Seattle Public Library

25 items

25 items

Contemplative Caregiving

Contemplative Caregiving

Finding Healing, Compassion, and Spiritual Growth Through End-of-life Care

by Baugher, John E.

Book - 2019

Educator and social science researcher Baugher (coeditor, Leading with Spirit, Presence, and Authenticity) distills care-giving practices to foster emotio...Show more Educator and social science researcher Baugher (coeditor, Leading with Spirit, Presence, and Authenticity) distills care-giving practices to foster emotional and spiritual growth in the lives of individuals, organizations, and society. Using a holistic point of view, he delves into the postures of compassion and healing, citing the benefits of caring with a playful spirit and as a means toward achieving mindfulness. (Library Journal) Show less

Educator and social science researcher Baugher (coeditor, Leading with Spirit, Presence, and Authenticity) distills care-giving practices to foster emotio...Show more Educator and social science researcher Baugher (coeditor, Leading with Spirit, Presence, and Authenticity) distills care-giving practices to foster emotional and spiritual growth in the lives of individuals, organizations, and society. Using a holistic point of view, he delves into the postures of compassion and healing, citing the benefits of caring with a playful spirit and as a means toward achieving mindfulness. (Library Journal) Show less

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A Very Easy Death

A Very Easy Death

by Beauvoir, Simone de

Book - 2013

A Very Easy Death has long been considered one of Simone de Beauvoir's masterpieces. The profoundly moving, day-by-day recounting of her mother's death &q...Show more A Very Easy Death has long been considered one of Simone de Beauvoir's masterpieces. The profoundly moving, day-by-day recounting of her mother's death "shows the power of compassion when it is allied with acute intelligence" (The Sunday Telegraph). Powerful, touching, and sometimes shocking, this is an end-of-life account that no reader is likely to forget. (Publisher description) Show less

A Very Easy Death has long been considered one of Simone de Beauvoir's masterpieces. The profoundly moving, day-by-day recounting of her mother's death &q...Show more A Very Easy Death has long been considered one of Simone de Beauvoir's masterpieces. The profoundly moving, day-by-day recounting of her mother's death "shows the power of compassion when it is allied with acute intelligence" (The Sunday Telegraph). Powerful, touching, and sometimes shocking, this is an end-of-life account that no reader is likely to forget. (Publisher description) Show less

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The Denial of Death

The Denial of Death

by Becker, Ernest

Book - 1997

Drawing from religion and the human sciences, particularly psychology after Freud, the author attempts to demonstrate that the fear of death is man's central concern. (Novelist) Drawing from religion and the human sciences, particularly psychology after Freud, the author attempts to demonstrate that the fear of death is man's central concern. (Novelist) Show less

Drawing from religion and the human sciences, particularly psychology after Freud, the author attempts to demonstrate that the fear of death is man's central concern. (Novelist) Drawing from religion and the human sciences, particularly psychology after Freud, the author attempts to demonstrate that the fear of death is man's central concern. (Novelist) Show less

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Facing Death

Facing Death

Finding Dignity, Hope and Healing at the End

by deMaine, Jim

Book - 2020

Is it possible to have a good death, free from unnecessary pain and trauma? What if our final days were designed to bring about reconciliation and release...Show more Is it possible to have a good death, free from unnecessary pain and trauma? What if our final days were designed to bring about reconciliation and release? In this wise and large-hearted book, Dr. Jim deMaine offers advice pointing the way toward a grace-filled transition out of life. (Publisher description) Show less

Is it possible to have a good death, free from unnecessary pain and trauma? What if our final days were designed to bring about reconciliation and release...Show more Is it possible to have a good death, free from unnecessary pain and trauma? What if our final days were designed to bring about reconciliation and release? In this wise and large-hearted book, Dr. Jim deMaine offers advice pointing the way toward a grace-filled transition out of life. (Publisher description) Show less

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From Here to Eternity

From Here to Eternity

Traveling the World to Find the Good Death

by Doughty, Caitlin

Book - 2017

Death gets the last word in this affably written, meticulously researched study of funerary customs. Death gets the last word in this affably written, meticulously researched study of funerary customs. Show less

Death gets the last word in this affably written, meticulously researched study of funerary customs. Death gets the last word in this affably written, meticulously researched study of funerary customs. Show less

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Kaddish.com

Kaddish.com

by Englander, Nathan

Book - 2019

An atheist son in an Orthodox Jewish family refuses to recite the Kaddish for his father after he dies, horrifying his mother and sisters, but then decides to hire a stranger through the Internet to recite the daily prayer. (NoveList) An atheist son in an Orthodox Jewish family refuses to recite the Kaddish for his father after he dies, horrifying his mother and sisters, but then decides to hire a stranger through the Internet to recite the daily prayer. (NoveList) Show less

An atheist son in an Orthodox Jewish family refuses to recite the Kaddish for his father after he dies, horrifying his mother and sisters, but then decides to hire a stranger through the Internet to recite the daily prayer. (NoveList) An atheist son in an Orthodox Jewish family refuses to recite the Kaddish for his father after he dies, horrifying his mother and sisters, but then decides to hire a stranger through the Internet to recite the daily prayer. (NoveList) Show less

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Being Mortal

Being Mortal

Medicine and What Matters in the End

by Gawande, Atul

Book - 2017

A sensitive, intelligent and heartfelt examination of the processes of aging and dying. A sensitive, intelligent and heartfelt examination of the processes of aging and dying. Show less

A sensitive, intelligent and heartfelt examination of the processes of aging and dying. A sensitive, intelligent and heartfelt examination of the processes of aging and dying. Show less

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Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

A New English Version

Book - 2013

The moving tale of a king who mourns the death of his closest friend and consequently undertakes a journey to discover the secrets of immortality, Gilgame...Show more The moving tale of a king who mourns the death of his closest friend and consequently undertakes a journey to discover the secrets of immortality, Gilgamesh has been in existence for thousands of years but was not discovered and translated until the 19th century. (Library Journal) Show less

The moving tale of a king who mourns the death of his closest friend and consequently undertakes a journey to discover the secrets of immortality, Gilgame...Show more The moving tale of a king who mourns the death of his closest friend and consequently undertakes a journey to discover the secrets of immortality, Gilgamesh has been in existence for thousands of years but was not discovered and translated until the 19th century. (Library Journal) Show less

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Let's Talk About Death (over Dinner)

Let's Talk About Death (over Dinner)

An Invitation and Guide to Life's Most Important Conversation

by Hebb, Michael

Book - 2018

Michael Hebb cofounded Death Over Dinner--an organization that encourages people to pull up a chair, break bread, and really talk about the one thing we a...Show more Michael Hebb cofounded Death Over Dinner--an organization that encourages people to pull up a chair, break bread, and really talk about the one thing we all have in common. Death Over Dinner has been one of the most effective end-of-life awareness campaigns to date; in just three years, it has provided the framework and inspiration for more than a hundred thousand dinners focused on having these end-of-life conversations. (Publisher description) Show less

Michael Hebb cofounded Death Over Dinner--an organization that encourages people to pull up a chair, break bread, and really talk about the one thing we a...Show more Michael Hebb cofounded Death Over Dinner--an organization that encourages people to pull up a chair, break bread, and really talk about the one thing we all have in common. Death Over Dinner has been one of the most effective end-of-life awareness campaigns to date; in just three years, it has provided the framework and inspiration for more than a hundred thousand dinners focused on having these end-of-life conversations. (Publisher description) Show less

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Reimagining Death

Reimagining Death

Stories and Practical Wisdom for Home Funerals and Green Burials

by Herring, Lucinda

Book - 2019

Interfaith minister and licensed funeral director Herring has become a champion of ecological ways to care for the dead. Here she presents stories, photog...Show more Interfaith minister and licensed funeral director Herring has become a champion of ecological ways to care for the dead. Here she presents stories, photographs, and plans for home vigils and natural burials that affirm contributions to a healthier, more harmonious life. (Library Journal) Show less

Interfaith minister and licensed funeral director Herring has become a champion of ecological ways to care for the dead. Here she presents stories, photog...Show more Interfaith minister and licensed funeral director Herring has become a champion of ecological ways to care for the dead. Here she presents stories, photographs, and plans for home vigils and natural burials that affirm contributions to a healthier, more harmonious life. (Library Journal) Show less

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The Little Red Guard

The Little Red Guard

A Family Memoir

by Huang, Wenguang

Book - 2012

Traces a Communist Chinese family's fifteen-year struggle to honor a grandmother's dying wish to be buried in spite of a national ban of traditional Chine...Show more Traces a Communist Chinese family's fifteen-year struggle to honor a grandmother's dying wish to be buried in spite of a national ban of traditional Chinese practices, an effort that pitted family members against one another and risked their capture by authorities. (NoveList) Show less

Traces a Communist Chinese family's fifteen-year struggle to honor a grandmother's dying wish to be buried in spite of a national ban of traditional Chine...Show more Traces a Communist Chinese family's fifteen-year struggle to honor a grandmother's dying wish to be buried in spite of a national ban of traditional Chinese practices, an effort that pitted family members against one another and risked their capture by authorities. (NoveList) Show less

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Die Wise

Die Wise

A Manifesto for Sanity and Soul

by Jenkinson, Stephen

Book - 2015

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 ...Show more 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. (Publisher description) Show less

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 ...Show more 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. (Publisher description) Show less

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The Heart

The Heart

by Kerangal, Maylis de

Book - 2016

"The Heart" takes place over the twenty-four hours surrounding a fatal accident and a resulting heart transplant as life is taken from a young m...Show more "The Heart" takes place over the twenty-four hours surrounding a fatal accident and a resulting heart transplant as life is taken from a young man and given to a woman close to death. In gorgeous, ruminative prose it examines the deepest feelings of everyone involved--grieving parents, hardworking doctors and nurses--as they navigate decisions of life and death. (NoveList) Show less

"The Heart" takes place over the twenty-four hours surrounding a fatal accident and a resulting heart transplant as life is taken from a young m...Show more "The Heart" takes place over the twenty-four hours surrounding a fatal accident and a resulting heart transplant as life is taken from a young man and given to a woman close to death. In gorgeous, ruminative prose it examines the deepest feelings of everyone involved--grieving parents, hardworking doctors and nurses--as they navigate decisions of life and death. (NoveList) Show less

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The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett

The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett

A Novel

by Lyons, Annie

Book - 2020

Eudora Honeysett is 85 and wants the privilege of dying on her own terms. And soon, please. Eudora Honeysett is 85 and wants the privilege of dying on her own terms. And soon, please. Show less

Eudora Honeysett is 85 and wants the privilege of dying on her own terms. And soon, please. Eudora Honeysett is 85 and wants the privilege of dying on her own terms. And soon, please. Show less

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With the End in Mind

With the End in Mind

Dying, Death and Wisdom in An Age of Denial

by Mannix, Kathryn

Book - 2018

An inspiring book on an always-difficult subject. Though for American readers the care facilities and specific treatments provided in the U.K. may differ, the personal stories will have universal resonance. An inspiring book on an always-difficult subject. Though for American readers the care facilities and specific treatments provided in the U.K. may differ, the personal stories will have universal resonance. Show less

An inspiring book on an always-difficult subject. Though for American readers the care facilities and specific treatments provided in the U.K. may differ, the personal stories will have universal resonance. An inspiring book on an always-difficult subject. Though for American readers the care facilities and specific treatments provided in the U.K. may differ, the personal stories will have universal resonance. Show less

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Hieroglyphics

Hieroglyphics

A Novel

by McCorkle, Jill

Book - 2020

McCorkle returns to Southern Pines, North Carolina, to explore themes of fate, mortality, and the human need for coping rituals. McCorkle returns to Southern Pines, North Carolina, to explore themes of fate, mortality, and the human need for coping rituals. Show less

McCorkle returns to Southern Pines, North Carolina, to explore themes of fate, mortality, and the human need for coping rituals. McCorkle returns to Southern Pines, North Carolina, to explore themes of fate, mortality, and the human need for coping rituals. Show less

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Beloved

Beloved

by Morrison, Toni

Book - 2004

Sethe, an escaped slave living in post-Civil War Ohio with her daughter and mother-in-law, is persistently haunted by the ghost of her dead baby girl. (NoveList) Sethe, an escaped slave living in post-Civil War Ohio with her daughter and mother-in-law, is persistently haunted by the ghost of her dead baby girl. (NoveList) Show less

Sethe, an escaped slave living in post-Civil War Ohio with her daughter and mother-in-law, is persistently haunted by the ghost of her dead baby girl. (NoveList) Sethe, an escaped slave living in post-Civil War Ohio with her daughter and mother-in-law, is persistently haunted by the ghost of her dead baby girl. (NoveList) Show less

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What Are You Going Through

What Are You Going Through

by Nunez, Sigrid

Book - 2020

A woman who is content to listen to the people she encounters talk about themselves is asked by one to do something extraordinary, in a novel by the New York Times-best-selling, National Book Award-winning author of The Friend. (NoveList) A woman who is content to listen to the people she encounters talk about themselves is asked by one to do something extraordinary, in a novel by the New York Times-best-selling, National Book Award-winning author of The Friend. (NoveList) Show less

A woman who is content to listen to the people she encounters talk about themselves is asked by one to do something extraordinary, in a novel by the New York Times-best-selling, National Book Award-winning author of The Friend. (NoveList) A woman who is content to listen to the people she encounters talk about themselves is asked by one to do something extraordinary, in a novel by the New York Times-best-selling, National Book Award-winning author of The Friend. (NoveList) Show less

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I Am, I Am, I Am

I Am, I Am, I Am

Seventeen Brushes With Death

by O'Farrell, Maggie

Book - 2018

A woman's striking and unexpected foray into near-death experiences. What happens to us when we near death? When the decisions we have made bring us to the moment when it might be too late to look back and change our minds? A woman's striking and unexpected foray into near-death experiences. What happens to us when we near death? When the decisions we have made bring us to the moment when it might be too late to look back and change our minds? Show less

A woman's striking and unexpected foray into near-death experiences. What happens to us when we near death? When the decisions we have made bring us to the moment when it might be too late to look back and change our minds? A woman's striking and unexpected foray into near-death experiences. What happens to us when we near death? When the decisions we have made bring us to the moment when it might be too late to look back and change our minds? Show less

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Stiff

Stiff

The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

by Roach, Mary

Book - 2004

A look inside the world of forensics examines the use of human cadavers in a wide range of endeavors, including research into new surgical procedures, space exploration, and a Tennessee human decay research facility. (NoveList) A look inside the world of forensics examines the use of human cadavers in a wide range of endeavors, including research into new surgical procedures, space exploration, and a Tennessee human decay research facility. (NoveList) Show less

A look inside the world of forensics examines the use of human cadavers in a wide range of endeavors, including research into new surgical procedures, space exploration, and a Tennessee human decay research facility. (NoveList) A look inside the world of forensics examines the use of human cadavers in a wide range of endeavors, including research into new surgical procedures, space exploration, and a Tennessee human decay research facility. (NoveList) Show less

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Choosing to Die

Choosing to Die

A Personal Story : Elective Death by Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking (VSED) in the Face of Degenerative Disease

by Shacter, Phyllis

Book - 2017

Phyllis Shacter courageously shares the first personal story ever written about VSED (voluntarily stopping eating and drinking). This memoir and guidebook...Show more Phyllis Shacter courageously shares the first personal story ever written about VSED (voluntarily stopping eating and drinking). This memoir and guidebook follows the journey she took with her husband, Alan, once he decided to VSED so he didn't have to live into the late stages of Alzheimer's disease. (Publisher description) Show less

Phyllis Shacter courageously shares the first personal story ever written about VSED (voluntarily stopping eating and drinking). This memoir and guidebook...Show more Phyllis Shacter courageously shares the first personal story ever written about VSED (voluntarily stopping eating and drinking). This memoir and guidebook follows the journey she took with her husband, Alan, once he decided to VSED so he didn't have to live into the late stages of Alzheimer's disease. (Publisher description) Show less

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To Serve the Living

To Serve the Living

Funeral Directors and the African American Way of Death

by Smith, Suzanne E.

Book - 2010

From antebellum slavery to the twenty-first century, African American funeral directors have orchestrated funerals or homegoing ceremonies with dignity an...Show more From antebellum slavery to the twenty-first century, African American funeral directors have orchestrated funerals or homegoing ceremonies with dignity and pageantry. As entrepreneurs in a largely segregated trade, they were among the few black individuals in any community who were economically independent and not beholden to the local white power structure. Most important, their financial freedom gave them the ability to support the struggle for civil rights and, indeed, to serve the living as well as bury the dead. (Publisher description) Show less

From antebellum slavery to the twenty-first century, African American funeral directors have orchestrated funerals or homegoing ceremonies with dignity an...Show more From antebellum slavery to the twenty-first century, African American funeral directors have orchestrated funerals or homegoing ceremonies with dignity and pageantry. As entrepreneurs in a largely segregated trade, they were among the few black individuals in any community who were economically independent and not beholden to the local white power structure. Most important, their financial freedom gave them the ability to support the struggle for civil rights and, indeed, to serve the living as well as bury the dead. (Publisher description) Show less

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The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying

The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying

by Sogyal, Rinpoche

Book - 2002

A newly revised and updated edition of the internationally bestselling spiritual classic, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, written by Sogyal Rinpoche, is the ultimate introduction to Tibetan Buddhist wisdom. (Publisher description) A newly revised and updated edition of the internationally bestselling spiritual classic, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, written by Sogyal Rinpoche, is the ultimate introduction to Tibetan Buddhist wisdom. (Publisher description) Show less

A newly revised and updated edition of the internationally bestselling spiritual classic, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, written by Sogyal Rinpoche, is the ultimate introduction to Tibetan Buddhist wisdom. (Publisher description) A newly revised and updated edition of the internationally bestselling spiritual classic, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, written by Sogyal Rinpoche, is the ultimate introduction to Tibetan Buddhist wisdom. (Publisher description) Show less

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The House of Broken Angels

The House of Broken Angels

A Novel

by Urrea, Luis Alberto

Book - 2018

Across one bittersweet weekend in their San Diego neighborhood, revelers mingle among the palm trees and cacti, celebrating the lives of family patriarch ...Show more Across one bittersweet weekend in their San Diego neighborhood, revelers mingle among the palm trees and cacti, celebrating the lives of family patriarch Miguel "Big Angel" De La Cruz and his mother, and recounting the many tales that have passed into family lore. (NoveList) Show less

Across one bittersweet weekend in their San Diego neighborhood, revelers mingle among the palm trees and cacti, celebrating the lives of family patriarch ...Show more Across one bittersweet weekend in their San Diego neighborhood, revelers mingle among the palm trees and cacti, celebrating the lives of family patriarch Miguel "Big Angel" De La Cruz and his mother, and recounting the many tales that have passed into family lore. (NoveList) Show less

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Life Events

Life Events

by Waclawiak, Karolina

Book - 2020

Separated and fatherless, a woman at a crossroads becomes a death doula to reorient her life. (NoveList) Separated and fatherless, a woman at a crossroads becomes a death doula to reorient her life. (NoveList) Show less

Separated and fatherless, a woman at a crossroads becomes a death doula to reorient her life. (NoveList) Separated and fatherless, a woman at a crossroads becomes a death doula to reorient her life. (NoveList) Show less

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