Death Writing: What the Dying and the Dead Tell Us About Who We Are and the Meaning of Our Lives

Abstract

In death writing books, people facing certain imminent death speak directly to us, and those who loved them speak with a dual voice; they speak of the dead and they speak for themselves. The dying writers help us discover who we are and the meaning of our lives, and they help us learn how to live and how to die. The loving writers tell us about their dual loss; the loss of their loved one and the loss of part of their identity. We learn that the dying find joy, and that their loved ones survive the death and reestablish their identity.