Death and Dying: Book List
The following is a book list of authors and titles on the subject of dying and death. (Descriptions of the books and publication details may be readily obtained from book seller websites, such as amazon.com)
Albery, Nicholas and Stephanie Wienrich. The New Natural Death Handbook
Alexander, Ty. Things I Wish I Knew Before My Mom Died: Coping with Loss Every Day
Anastasios, Andrew. Dying to Know: A Guide to Death for Everyone Alive
Aniston, Melanie. How to Go on After the Loss of Your Mother: A Life Changing Guide to Stop Feeling Guilty, Forgiving Yourself and Coping with Grief and Loss
Blackman, Sushila. Graceful Exits: How Great Beings Die (Death Stories of Hindu, Tibetan Buddhist, and Zen Masters)
Brayne, Sue. The D-Word: Talking about Dying: A Guide for Relatives, Friends and Carers
Brinley, Ava. Everything You Need to Know When I’m Gone: End of Life Planner for Affairs and Last Wishes (A Simple Guide for my Family to Make my Passing Easier)
Byron, Patricia C. Last Orders: The Essential Guide to Your Letter of Wishes
Byron, Patricia C. The Good Will Guide (Second Edition)
Cacciatore, Joanne. Bearing the Unbearable: Love, Loss, and the Heartbreaking Path of Grief
Coleman, Graham. The Tibetan Book of the Dead: First Complete Translation (Penguin Classics)
Dass, Ram. Still Here: Embracing Aging, Changing, and Dying
Feinmann, Jane. How to Have a Good Death
Gould, Philip. When I Die: Lessons from the Death Zone
Haig, Matt. Reasons to Stay Alive
Hayner, Steve and others. Joy in the Journey: Finding Abundance in the Shadow of Death
Holecek, Andrew. Preparing to Die: Practical Advice and Spiritual Wisdom from the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition
Hookham, Lama Shenpen. There’s More to Dying Than Death: A Buddhist Perspective
Kalanithi, Paul. When Breath Becomes Air: What Makes Life Worth Living in the Face of Death?
Kübler-Ross, Elisabeth. On Death and Dying: What the Dying Have to Teach Doctors, Nurses, Clergy and Their Own Families
Levine, Stephen. A Year to Live: How to Live This Year as If It Were Your Last
Lewis, C.S. A Grief Observed
Mannix, Kathryn. With the End in Mind: Dying, Death and Wisdom in an Age of Denial
Martin, Richard. Celebrating the Life of a Loved One: What to Do with Their Ashes
McEvoy, Mel. An Emptied Space
Michie, David. Buddhism for Pet Lovers: Supporting our Closest Companions Through Life and Death
Neuberger, Rabbi Julia. Dying Well: A Guide to Enabling a Good Death
Newland, Guy. A Buddhist Grief Observed
Noel, Brook and Blair, Pamela D. I Wasn’t Ready to Say Goodbye: Surviving, Coping and Healing After the Sudden Death of a Loved One
Nolan, Steve. Spiritual Care and the End of Life: The Chaplain as a ‘Hopeful Presence’
Nuland, Sherwin B. How We Die: Reflections on Life’s Final Chapter
Parkes, Colin Murray and others. Death and Bereavement Across Cultures (Second edition)
Petch, Sally. Death Matters
Peter Pauper Press. I’m Dead, Now What? Important Information About My Belongings, Business Affairs, and Wishes
Sanders, Catherine. How to Survive the Loss of a Child: Filling the Emptiness and Rebuilding Your Life
Scull, Georgina. Regrets of the Dying: Stories and Wisdom That Remind Us How to Live
Siledeat Publishing. My Final Wishes: Everything You Need to Know When I’m Gone (End of Life Planner, Checklist & Organizer – Detailed Information About My Accounts, Affairs, Belongings & Wishes)
Smith, Rodney. Lessons from the Dying
Sogyal Rinpoche. The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying: A Spiritual Classic from One of the Foremost Interpreters of Tibetan Buddhism to the West
Taylor, R. B. A Grief Observed
Ware, Bronnie. The Top Five Regrets of the Dying: A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing
Weller, Francis. The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief
Yasmeen, Om. What To Do When I Die: Guided Pre-Death Planner and Organizer to Record All Essential Information for Your Family
Books for Children
Awbery, Stephanie. My Daddy Had Cancer
Kowalski, Gary A. Goodbye, Friend: Healing Wisdom for Anyone Who Has Ever Lost a Pet
Lee, Carol. Saying Goodbye to Hare: A story to Prepare a Child for the Death of Someone Special (For ages 5-9. A Story About Death and Dying for Children Aged 5-9 Years)
Robinson, Hilary. The Copper Tree
Rosen, Michael, and Quentin Blake. Michael Rosen’s Sad Book
Books for People with Learning Disabilities
Hollins, Sheila, and others. Am I Going to Die?
As we grow older and the body begins to register the signs of aging, reminders of life’s transiency are more and more frequent.
Past the midpoint of our lives, when the pursuits and ambitions of our youth begin to lose some of their glamour, the speed at which life goes by is seen more clearly.
Just yesterday, it seems, we were in high school; today we are watching our son graduate from college. We remember being a newlywed as if it were last weekend, and today we are putting putting the third candle on our granddaughter’s cake.
Like the lilac, like the death of a loved one or a friend, all these are reminders that it is time to wake up from the dream that money or pleasure or prestige can make us happy, time to wake up and discover why it is that we are here.
(Eknath Easwaran, How to Understand Death)