Suffer Less in Death


Book Description

Death is a clear-cut objective moment, but the process of dying and the choices we make for our own death and others is a wholly different subject. Not becoming educated on your ability to influence your dying process is leaving that potentially long helpless period to fate. Raw and informative, this book explores the truth and asserts your right to knowledge and your right to say “No” to medical procedures that ultimately only prolong suffering once imminent and inevitable death arrives. What can be done to decrease unnecessary suffering before inevitable death? This suffering is almost always influenced by a fear or lack of acceptance of death. For the most part, the healthcare field cannot stop this pain and suffering because of influences beyond its control, unless you know how to protect yourself. Ultimately, it is up to the patient or their medical guardian to ensure a peaceful and dignified death. It is obvious Vincent cares deeply about your awareness, knowledge, and choices, as well as your control of your body and your own health care. He cares to see your unnecessary fears of this often dark and taboo subject alleviated. His professional and personal caring perspectives come from 21 years of bedside emergency and intensive care nursing in teaching hospitals, followed by 14 more years of advocating for both the dying and the living to pilot their own health care. He takes a look at an otherwise bitterly-avoided subject that we all must face and turns it into a highly informative, easy, and, at times, even a funny read. There is a sweet icing on this normally hard-to-stomach cake known as dying and death: he also has some great input on how not only to stay alive, but to feel more alive.




This Republic of Suffering


Book Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • An "extraordinary ... profoundly moving" history (The New York Times Book Review) of the American Civil War that reveals the ways that death on such a scale changed not only individual lives but the life of the nation. An estiated 750,000 soldiers lost their lives in the American Civil War. An equivalent proportion of today's population would be seven and a half million. In This Republic of Suffering, Drew Gilpin Faust describes how the survivors managed on a practical level and how a deeply religious culture struggled to reconcile the unprecedented carnage with its belief in a benevolent God. Throughout, the voices of soldiers and their families, of statesmen, generals, preachers, poets, surgeons, nurses, northerners and southerners come together to give us a vivid understanding of the Civil War's most fundamental and widely shared reality. With a new introduction by the author, and a new foreword by Mike Mullen, 17th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.




Death Before the Fall


Book Description

In this eloquent and provocative "open letter" to evangelicals, Ronald Osborn wrestles with the problem of biblical literalism and the ongoing challenge of animal suffering within an evolutionary understanding of the world. Osborn forces us to ask hard questions, not only of the Bible and church tradition, but also and especially of ourselves.




O Death, Where Is Thy Sting?


Book Description

"A thorough exploration, through personal stories and artistic/academic meditations, of the bleakest and most fearful questions around God's presence in human suffering and death"--




Sometimes I Never Suffered


Book Description

Spanning religious, historical, and political themes, a new collection from the award-winning poet I think now more than half Of life is death but I can’t die Enough for all the life I see In Sometimes I Never Suffered, his seventh collection of poems, Shane McCrae remains “a shrewd composer of American stories” (Dan Chiasson, The New Yorker). Here, an angel, hastily thrown together by his fellow residents of Heaven, plummets to Earth in his first moments of consciousness. Jim Limber, the adopted mixed-race son of Jefferson Davis, wanders through the afterlife, reckoning with the nuances of America’s racial history, as well as his own. Sometimes I Never Suffered is a search for purpose and atonement, freedom and forgiveness, imagining eternity not as an escape from the past or present, but as a reverberating record and as the culmination of time’s manifold potential to mend.




The Theology of Suffering and Death


Book Description

This book offers a theological foundation for engaging with the realities of suffering and dying. Designed particularly for practical theology students and trainee caregivers, it introduces the spiritual and theological issues raised by suffering and dying. The chapters consider: how Christian theology deals with the problem of suffering and how the Bible treats these difficult issues post-biblical interpretations of Jesus’ suffering and the Cross modern instances including ecology, poverty, discrimination and war comparative religious approaches and the depiction in popular culture. Natalie Weaver relates theology to practical issues of caregiving and provides a ‘toolbox’ for thinking about suffering and death in a creative and supportive way.




Surprised by Suffering


Book Description

With honesty, sensitivity, and concern for biblical truth, Sproul addresses the afterlife and the role of suffering in human experience.




The Abridgment


Book Description




The Day I Died


Book Description

In her honest work, The Day I Died, Melanie Pritchard tells the harrowing tale of her sudden death and miraculous healing through the remarkable accounts of those who witnessed it and those closest to her. With powerful insight, Melanie touches on the myriad of emotions and reactions to her miracle, which is approachable to anyone who has experienced tragedy or suffering. By defining her miraculous experience through faithful trust in Christ, the extraordinary reality of God's mercy comes shining through."The Gospel of Life is far more than a document written by Blessed John Paul II. It is Good News made real within the Church, special grace that gives life and inspires hope. Melanie Pritchard's autobiographical work bears eloquent witness to the Gospel of Life in an unparalleled and dramatic yet true way. While her words and actions, for years now, have challenged us to stand strong against a culture of death and to cooperate in building a civilization of love, this book and the true story of her heroic faith that it portrays, will move many to even greater action and to livelier faith. It reminds us of what we are capable with the help of God's love."-Most Reverend Thomas J. Olmsted, Bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix"Reading The Day I Died is a powerful reminder of the strength that resides in the weak and broken. This intense tale of Melanie's death and new life will leave you breathless as you meditate on the infinite Divine Mercy and love that God has not only for her and her family, but for you as well."-Jennifer Willits, Radio Co-Host of "The Catholics Next Door," Co-Founder of Rosary Army Corp"It's common in this culture for people to doubt God's existence, much less His presence in times of suffering. In The Day I Died we're reminded - yet again - that God the Father never takes His eyes off of His children. Melanie's book is an important work - a timely reminder of God's unyielding faithfulness. From the strongest Christian soul to the most hardened or wandering heart, this story is worthy of your time to read and important for your heart to pray through. The Day I Died is soul-inspiring proof that miracles do still happen." - Mark Hart, Award-winning author, Executive Vice President - Life Teen International"In life and in death, Melanie is a witness to the fact that God's power is made perfect in weakness. Her book offers a riveting and heart-rending account of the power of intercession, the providence of God, and the dignity of human life. Whether you're married or single, this story will make you grateful for the gift of life at all its stages, and will remind you that God's word is true: love is stronger than death."- Jason and Crystalina Evert, Authors of "How to Find your Soulmate without Losing your Soul"