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30 book recommendations in 30 days...

Day 27: Another profoundly meaningful book, based on the author's experiences working within a hospice environment. #30recsin30days

Probably gonna read it every year.

It‘s incredible how I have been finding the best books for me. As a geropsychologist in nursing homes, Kerry, a hospice chaplain, and I do the same work. Nothing to boast about, we must face difficult issues daily with our patients and with ourselves. In Kerry, I found a kindred spirit and a mentor. I know that I am not alone in my practices and beliefs and I learned a lot more about life in the midst of learning about about death. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"Keeping a secret is like fertilizing a weed, and the family secrets that fertilize shame choke out love before it can even grow...Shame is the enemy of love; it can never serve it"

"It's a beautiful life and then you leave it...such beauty and such loss coincide in every life, in every soul, in every memory"

Egan is a hospice chaplain and her experiences are too achingly beautiful to describe, it simply must be read to do it justice.

Another picture of a beautiful memorial tree - this one was planted over 5 years ago, for my oldest brother ?

This has been both an amazing book and a really hard one for me to consistently pick up. Having experienced more loss and trauma in the last 10 years than many people do in a lifetime, getting in the headspace to read about palliative persons is tough. But I hope to finish it today & have been grateful for every tear along the way. This tree was planted this past summer as a tribute to someone I love dearly #foreverfamily

Trying to soak in the wisdom that comes from tough circumstances on World Premature Day - sometimes hard to make sense of things but finding the right book helps.
My nephew Owen was born at 29 weeks with a tumour on his heart. He spent 109 days with his parents on earth; Tuesday will be 3 years since he gained his wings 💙 If you can, light a candle for all the babies that are gone & those that survived the difficult fight. #worldprematureday

"...while my experiences might be unique to me, the pain was quite ordinary, and I was not alone in it."

"There's power in the stories of their lives and the meanings they found in them...That power isn't just for those who are dying. It's for anyone who wants to listen."

"I don't know if listening to other people's life stories as they die can make you wise, but I do know that it can heal your soul."

On my #Kindle tonight, this weekend and most likely to be the last book in #January
What are you reading?

Favorites of 2017
I gave all these books 4.5 🌟

Recent #bookmail that I shelved for awhile because of my Dad‘s health and his eventual need for care from hospice. I‘ve since started it and read it slowly; truly it was like a giant hug. I‘d like to imagine that these stories shared by the author are some that my Dad would share if he could speak.

I personally cried a lot and obviously marked many passages. For a less emotional person, it‘d most likely be more heartwarming and hopeful than sad.

I had a good graphic for today‘s roundup but forgot to download it to my phone. My current view is this. Anyway, 9 outstanding nonfiction picks to read right now. Book suggestions & descriptions on my blog http://www.bethfishreads.com/2017/10/9-nonfiction-books-to-read-right-now.html?m...

"...I was like everyone else, and that while my experiences might be unique to me, the pain was quite ordinary, and I was not alone in it..." #truth

A hospice chaplain writes of the stories about living entrusted to her by those close to death, and the grace that comes from sharing the end of a life. (And isn't the cover lovely?)

Egan shares stories about some of the people she met while working as a hospice chaplain. If you are grieving or facing loss, this #audiobook narrated by the author may comfort you. Life is beautiful and then we die.

This is a great audio narrated by the author. She is a chaplain and she describes her experience with dying patients sharing their stories with the reader. Weirdly, it is a very life affirming book, but so sad I keep crying and having to stop listening for a couple of weeks so I am not sure if I will have the strength to get to the end of the book

I loved this book. It's right up there with Tiny Beautiful Things in terms of books that I should own copies of and have on hand whenever I have an existential crisis. Thanks #sprincleaningreadathon for helping finish the last few pages of this amazing book.

This whole book is just full of awesome advice. #onliving #goodadvice #booktherapy #bookhelp

Morning reading time before work

"There's nothing stopping you from acting with the same urgency the dying feel...Become who you want to be while you can enjoy it. Don't put off doing the work of becoming who you want to be. Waiting will not make it easier, and time is short."

I'm going to describe On Living as a book written by a hospice worker that shares the secrets, wisdoms, and regrets of the dying. Mrs. Egan does a terrific job of inspiring, and takes what seemingly would be a tear filled subject and turns it in to a thoughtful little book of lessons and insight. I Loved it!

Forgot to take a pic of the book before taking it back to the library. But as a Hospice nurse myself, I appreciated this Chaplain's experiences with her various patients as they navigated the last days/months of their lives. From my own experience I can definitely say that it is unbelievably humbling to be a part of a hospice team❤️ A great read for every human.

Life is a million choices...

Yikes! When library requests decide to come in all at once😳 Gonna have to shift some of my TBR around😬❤️🤓📚

I absolutely loved this. Will be buying a copy for my resident office library. This book was everything. It reminded me of all of the reasons I decided to go into medicine that get lost when you're trying to get through just one day at a time. I needed this. I needed this book so much. And it was perfect. 💛💛💛

Great month thanks to 24in48!!

I found this to be a very poignant and accurate statement. 💙💙💙

A beautiful book.

Read this without laughing.

All I could change was how I saw it. I.e. My past.

I just want to remember this.

I'm going to think about this for a good long while.

"Attempting to find or make meaning is perhaps the central task of the spiritual life." p169

"Living things continue to develop until the moment they die, whether or not anyone else recognizes it." p112

It is difficult to find words to fully describe how powerful I found the insights in this book. There is so much wisdom contained in this slender volume. I will certainly be pressing it into the hands of everyone I love.

What do people do when they're at parties? They tell stories, and if it's a great party, they dance. They might drink, and they might even take some drugs, but really, those things are usually the precursors to telling stories. It's stories that heal.

It's an icy Midwest day, and I cozied up in front of a fire to finish this moving book about living while dying. The stories are beautiful and thought provoking without being preachy. I hope I can keep these stories with me because I think there is much to learn from them.

Keep your tissues close by! So much wisdom and inspiration in this book. Loved it. Thanks @rebeccaschinsky for the recommendation. Please welcome my friend @brannstrom to the Litsy family!

I'm pretty sure I can blame the #BookRiot podcasts for most of this stack. I tend to listen to back episodes and just place holds all willy nilly for books and authors they mention. Ah well, at least they'll keep me busy! #libraryhaul

Loving this nonfiction book by a hospice chaplain. There's so much wisdom to be found as people reflect on their lives.

A beautiful book on the agony and ecstasy of living and dying. Highly recommended.

Lovely

Beautiful

I think we need more love as we get older not less. ❤️️❤️️❤️️

"If I had only known, I would have danced more." Somebody tattoo this on my body

Such a beautiful story.

You should read this. Really, you should. It is pretty amazing. For those who are not religious, this isn't a religious book, but it does touch on some after life stuff. It is more how people approach death and stories she heard- regrets, secrets, joys, family, etc. She even says, as a chaplain, she talks more about families and stories than about faith.

Who do you believe yourself to be? It‘s a strange question, right? But trying to answer it honestly tells a person so much about themselves.