Schaper - Approaching the end of life: a practical and spiritual guide

Praise for Approaching the End of Life

Rev. Schaper has produced a book that is thoughtful and helpful for those who will open themselves to considering the part that death and dying play in living and life. Written mostly from a Christian perspective, it nevertheless has insights and refreshing, light, and honest views on approaching these issues that are applicable to all persons in every faith, and none. Rabbi Joe Blair, administrative dean, Gamliel Institute of Kavod vNichum; coordinator, Jewish Values Online; Bridgewater College

Reading this book made me excited to live and die well! I am in my thirties and, technically, not approaching the end of life. However, Donna Schapers perspective on ending life at a place of peace and composure makes the hard topic of death totally comfortable, accessibleand inspiring! I am already planning the best funeral ever and living life to the fullest so that when that funeral happens, it can truly be a celebration for all in attendance! Carissa Reiniger, founder and CEO, Silver Lining, Ltd.

While Schaper says this book is about dying, it is just as much about living. The reader is encouraged to embrace death (and life!) with spiritual honesty in the context of a postmodern, pluralistic twenty-first century. Her words have caused me to take pause and reflect upon how I am choosing to live each day in preparation for a wonder-full end, instead of an inevitable conclusion. I am filled with a profound sense of hope. I want all the people I love to read this book. David R. Gaewski, conference minister, New York United Church of Christ

With fresh language and a helpful breadth of perspective, Rev. Donna Schaper has provided an invaluable tool for approaching the end of life, a must-read for clergy and highly accessible for laity. I will be looking forward to using Approaching the End of Life as a solid text on practical spirituality with adults in my parish. Ron Bretz

Regarding the aspect of death, I have to look at it from many angles, from my practice, their families, my family, and myself. In any scenario, it can be difficult on how to react, what to say, and how to feel. Rev. Schaper does an excellent job of discussing a potentially difficult or challenging matter in an upfront, logical, and very caring way. I think everyone needs to read this book. Scott Jurica, MS, DC, PAK, ACN; holistic doctor

Approaching the end of life, complex emotion and mundane decisions collide. Grief mixes with mystery. Donna Schaper is a wise, experienced guide through the colliding, the grief, the mystery, and the intimacy of that tender time. She writes with the power of long experience and careful observation, sharing stories of approaching death well by living well. She writes with deep appreciation for people in and out of faith communities, giving all of us generous ways to honor the momentousness of dying. And she writes convincingly that the best moment to begin preparing for our inevitable end is right now, with close attention to the troubles and grace that make up both a good life and a holy death. The Rev. Dr. John A. Nelson, pastor and teacher, Niantic Community Church, CT

Donna Schapers new book is the ideal vehicle for tackling an urgently essential teaching for our times. Who should read it? Pastors, old and new, who need new tools to help those knocking at their door without the culture of a congregation. Individuals who have managed to avoid the topic of mortality until an embarrassingly mature age who now must create something for themselves or a loved one. And even those of us professionals who have failed in our own lives to begin important processes like retirement planning or life review. She shows us that preparation for death can be a fulfilling and often joyful exercise of discovering value in our unique and communal identity. Read it. Rev. Carrie Bail, interim pastor, First Congregational Church of East Longmeadow, MA

This is a book for those who wish to embrace the end of life with open arms. May all our inevitable passings be filled with such powerful ministry! Caroline Woolard, cofounder, OurGoods.org and TradeSchool.coop

In our death-defying culture, how welcome to have this new book that teaches us not only how to have a good death and playfully imagine the great mystery beyond, but also how to live the fullest life. Part Garrison Keillor, part Anne Lamott, Schaper leans into a decades-long ministry to share with us stories and deep truths that will make readers laugh and cry and think and feel their way to healing and wholeness. The Rev. Dr. Katharine R. Henderson, president, Auburn Theological Seminary

Donna Schaper writes about how we respond to deathour own and othersin ways that are both wise and practical. In so doing, she helps us engage the most important realities we will ever face and equips us to talk about them with those we love.
Martin B. Copenhaver, president, Andover Newton Theological School

Donna Schaper looks squarely at the rich fullness of life without flinchingeven when lifes last event inevitably arrives. This candid assessment of death and its leading days is an exercise of the deepest core values, she says. This courageous book, with its lively and intelligent tone, ingeniously loops back to how we live our lives now. What a freedom in that. Rev. George E. Packard, retired bishop of the Episcopal Church

Approaching the
End of Life

A Practical and Spiritual Guide

Published by Rowman & Littlefield

A wholly owned subsidiary of
The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.

4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706

www.rowman.com

Unit A, Whitacre Mews, 26-34 Stannary Street, London SE11 4AB,
United Kingdom

Copyright 2015 by Rowman & Littlefield

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Schaper, Donna.

Approaching the end of life : a practical and spiritual guide / Donna Schaper.

pages cm

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-4422-3824-4 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN 978-1-4422-3825-1 (electronic)

1. Funeral servicePlanning. 2. Terminally illReligious life. 3. DeathReligious aspects. 4. Spiritual life. I. Title.

BV199.F8S36 2015

248.8'6175dc23

2015008612