The American Book of Living and Dying

Groves and Klauser weave threads of ancient wisdom with stories from real-life experience to create a uniquely American and practical guide for dying well. Ira Byock, M.D., Director of Palliative Care at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and author of Dying Well This excellent and very readable book finds new ways to create life even out of death. The American Book of Living and Dying opens avenues of healing and hope and shares them with us. Richard Rohr, O.F.M., Founder of the Center for Action and Contemplationand author of Simplicity: The Freedom of Letting Go Informationen zum Autor Richard F. Groves and Henriette Anne Klauser Klappentext For most people, the thought of dying or caring for a terminally ill friend or family member raises fears and questions as old as humanity: What is a "good death"? What appropriate preparations should be made? How do we best support our loved ones as life draws to its close? In this nondenominational handbook, Richard F. Groves and Henriette Anne Klauser provide comfort, direction, and hope to the dying and their caregivers through nine archetypal stories that illustrate the most common end-of-life concerns. Drawing from personal experiences, the authors offer invaluable guidance on easing emotional pain and navigating this difficult final passage. With a compelling new preface, this edition also features an overview of the hospice movement; a survey of Celtic, Tibetan, Egyptian, and other historic perspectives on the sacred art of dying; as well as various therapies, techniques, and rituals to alleviate suffering, stimulate reflection, and strengthen interpersonal bonds. The American Book of Living and Dying gives us courage to trust our deepest instincts, and reminds us that by telling the stories of those who have passed, we remember, honor, and continue to learn from them. Leseprobe The Original Hospice: The Art of Dying Well Apply yourself now, that at the hour of death, you may be glad and unafraid. Thomas à Kempis The word hospice comes from the same root word as the terms hostel and hospitality. Hospice conjures up images of Swiss Alpine shelters, complete with a St. Bernard dog wearing his signature brandy cask. These original hospices were indeed places of respite for weary medieval pilgrims. Like early B & Bs, hospices dotted Europe's high Alpine landscape, which followed ancient Roman trade routes. Some of the oldest hospices, created by physician-monks and nuns, trace their lineage back to the year 1000 a.d. The hospice infirmary was an essential part of an institution where travelers also fell sick and died. Within the relatively safe walls of European monastic communities, the West thus created its first hospital and health care system. A library of records still exists that refer to a larger tradition popularly called the ars moriendi, or the art of dying. Many ancient cultures produced books of the dead. In recent years there has been a revival of interest in writings like the Tibetan Book of the Dying and the Celtic Books of the Dead. Few Americans realize that, a thousand years ago, the West also produced its own book of the dying. At the turn of the last millennium, early in the eleventh century a.d., a convergence of many great traditions took place in the heart of Europe. The result became an ingenious collection of wisdom with the bold name Ars Bene Moriendi, or the Art of Dying Well. Aspects of this ancient healing art are relevant today. Just knowing that an entire society was once committed to doing whatever it took to support the peaceful dying of its citizens is impressive. The ars sacra moriendi, considered a sacred art because of its care for both body and soul, became a blueprint of the original Western hospice that survived for nearly five hundred years. Our Western ancestors created gui...

Auteur

Richard F. Groves and Henriette Anne Klauser

Texte du rabat

For most people, the thought of dying or caring for a terminally ill friend or family member raises fears and questions as old as humanity: What is a "good death"? What appropriate preparations should be made? How do we best support our loved ones as life draws to its close? In this nondenominational handbook, Richard F. Groves and Henriette Anne Klauser provide comfort, direction, and hope to the dying and their caregivers through nine archetypal stories that illustrate the most common end-of-life concerns. Drawing from personal experiences, the authors offer invaluable guidance on easing emotional pain and navigating this difficult final passage.

With a compelling new preface, this edition also features an overview of the hospice movement; a survey of Celtic, Tibetan, Egyptian, and other historic perspectives on the sacred art of dying; as well as various therapies, techniques, and rituals to alleviate suffering, stimulate reflection, and strengthen interpersonal bonds. The American Book of Living and Dying gives us courage to trust our deepest instincts, and reminds us that by telling the stories of those who have passed, we remember, honor, and continue to learn from them.

Échantillon de lecture
**The Original Hospice: The Art of Dying Well

Apply yourself now, that at the hour of death, you may be glad and unafraid.
–Thomas à Kempis
*
*The word hospice comes from the same root word as the terms hostel and hospitality. Hospice conjures up images of Swiss Alpine shelters, complete with a St. Bernard dog wearing his signature brandy cask. These original hospices were indeed places of respite for weary medieval pilgrims. Like early B & Bs, hospices dotted Europe’s high Alpine landscape, which followed ancient Roman trade routes. Some of the oldest hospices, created by physician-monks and nuns, trace their lineage back to the year 1000 a.d.

The hospice infirmary was an essential part of an institution where travelers also fell sick and died. Within the relatively safe walls of European monastic communities, the West thus created its first hospital and health care system. A library of records still exists that refer to a larger tradition popularly called the ars moriendi, or the art of dying.

Many ancient cultures produced books of the dead. In recent years there has been a revival of interest in writings like the Tibetan Book of the Dying and the Celtic Books of the Dead. Few Americans realize that, a thousand years ago, the West also produced its own book of the dying. At the turn of the last millennium, early in the eleventh century a.d., a convergence of many great traditions took place in the heart of Europe. The result became an ingenious collection of wisdom with the bold name Ars Bene Moriendi, or the Art of Dying Well.

Aspects of this ancient healing art are relevant today. Just knowing that an entire society was once committed to doing whatever it took to support the peaceful dying of its citizens is impressive. The ars sacra moriendi, considered a sacred art because of its care for both body and soul, became a blueprint of the original Western hospice that survived for nearly five hundred years.

Our Western ancestors created guides and manuals for their work, but there was no “one size fits all” model to relieve spiritual pain. During the Middle Ages, there was a distinction between art and science. Science was responsible for finding and applying universal principles; art referred to the application of science to a person or thing. At the end of life, the caregiver’s art was to find a unique way to relieve a particular person’s struggles and fears.

Few places on earth have preserved the spirit of the West’s ancient hospice movement like the medieval town of Beaune (pronounced bone) in Southeastern France.

**A Vision from the Past: God’s Hotel

*The only measure of a society’s greatness depends upon
how it cares for the poorest of its poor at the…