Hospice Life Lessons: book reviews for caregivers
Below are three of my favorite books all of which remind me how to do a life-well-lived by knowing that I will not live forever.
Each are composed of small stories generated by someone who was served by a hospice professional but who in turn served us by teaching us something important. These are important books.
DISCLOSURE: The book images below have Amazon Affiliate links. If any of these books appeal to you, if you choose to click on them, and if you purchase them through Amazon, I will get a small commission. Thank you, if you choose to do so.
Each are composed of small stories generated by someone who was served by a hospice professional but who in turn served us by teaching us something important. These are important books.
DISCLOSURE: The book images below have Amazon Affiliate links. If any of these books appeal to you, if you choose to click on them, and if you purchase them through Amazon, I will get a small commission. Thank you, if you choose to do so.
 Emotional Chaos to Clarity
by Phillip Moffitt
I have found this book to be imminently useful to myself and in my hospice ministry. Some of the ideas and practices are ground truth in their practicality and necessity. Here is one which I use in my sound meditations...to start over. It is a practice. We are a practice. We start over in THIS moment....It is about the simple, superpower of forgiveness in the moment, and opening the way to a more creative life by simply finding space for it – in our inner sanctums ...e.g. the kingdom of God(dess) within. However, the best indication of how wonderful this book is, is my personal story on how I got this book. I attended a free day-long meditation at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in April of this year. Mr. Moffitt generously offers these annually to CAREGIVERS at no charge because he clearly understands the stressors of caring for a loved one. He is a stand up guy, for sure. But to get to MY story, I took two of my own books with me to this event. I wanted to be open to Guidance. Who might show up in front of me that my book might support? My book is a collection of lessons by fire...which I learned about caregiving. It happens this way. The woman who I sat beside was named Diane. She told me her story about how she was caring for her mother...right now. She clearly needed support, so I gifted her my book. I enjoyed her quiet company throughout the lovely day-long...I felt restored. I had never heard of Phillip Moffitt but my new friend was a long-time student of his work. At its conclusion, when we said goodbye she handed me this book. She was moved to offer the gift of wisdom back to me. It was the best wisdom she knew. THIS was one of those instant Karma moments which you just can't make up. I wish I knew her last name. But please Diane, accept my thanks. For the rest of you, know that this book will change your life. |
The Gift: Poems by Hafiz, the Great Sufi Master by Hafiz and Daniel Ladinsky
The poetry in this book is heart-permeable...and the title is apropos. The poetry duo of Hafiz and Ladinsky is an immense gift. I have been through this book many times. I have several copies...most are dog-eared. It would be hard to choose which poems are the best....as I read them over and over, I find that they seem new to me - no matter how many times I know I have read them. Such is the gift of Ladinsky's translations, too. I have sat with native Persian/Farsi speakers and gone through original poems which are likely to be the originals. I am not a scholar, but the 'translations" seem to be more of a tango between Mr. Ladinsky and the very present ghost of Hafiz. To say they are modern is true and the messages are truly timeless. Here's a sampling: Damn Thirsty First the fish has to say "Something ain't right about this camel ride." "I am feeling so damn thirsty." The Rose How did the rose ever show her beauty to the world? She needed the encouragement of light, otherwise we all remain too afraid. It is always touch and go to whether I get through this one at bedside... without my voice cracking. My Sweet, Crushed Angel You have not danced so badly, my dear, Trying to hold hands with the Beautiful One. You have waltzed with great style, My sweet, crushed angel, To have ever neared God's heart at all. Our Partner is notoriously difficult to follow, And even His best musicians are not always easy To hear. So what if the music has stopped for a while… So what If the price of admission to the Divine Is out of reach tonight. So what, my dear, If you do not have the ante to gamble for Real Love. The mind and the body are famous for holding the heart ransom, but Hafiz knows the Beloved's eternal habits. Have patience, for He will not be able to resist your longing for long. You have not danced so badly, my dear, Trying to kiss the Beautiful One. You have actually waltzed with tremendous style, O my sweet, O my sweet crushed angel. |
The Exquisite Risk - Daring to LIve an Authentic Life by Mark Nepo
I read this book a while ago but picked it up again. I was reminded of how many copies I had given away as I was compelled to share its jujitsu wisdom with my friends. It is compose do short pithy chapters, which are themselves organized into four "movements'. They are easily digested just before bed...to read yourself to sleep. Here's one where my notations in the margins and underlining is more wordy than the original text– such is the immediate and useful loveliness that is Mark Nepo's work.
This is from Movement Two: Steering Our Way to Center. " With discernment but without judgment, the human journey is one of steering our way back to center over and over. So, this is really about learning the art of canoeing. What is the nature of life's current? ... What is the nature of drifting? How do we learn the art of steering? In daily terms, how do we personalize our relationship with that sacred stream? In essence, like it our not, we are all small boat builders and stream-journeyers, dreaming of the ease of fish while tiring our arms." Fish are great teachers in two ways. First, all this drifting and steering, all this being battered about by life's current, it all transforms us as we do....Consider how salmon transform their very biology during their lives..." ...from salt water to freshwater; from ocean to stream. "This is the purpose of faith: to believe that this current is there even though we can't see it. And this is the purpose of will: to correct our inevitable drifting with a paddle here and a paddle there, not trying to do it all ourselves, but trying to restore our native position in the ancient and immediate current so it can carry us into tomorrow." This is what I love about this book and the poet, his work is both accessible and brightly illuminated – like a colorful painted portrait of a spiritual principle. He helps me (literally) to see it and fully grasp it as lesser wordsmiths might let it wiggle away in the stream. |
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Future Review Categories:
- Hospice Life lessons-
- How to Die Books -
- Dementia Memoirs
- Chaplain Stories and Tools