Chicago’s Lawndale neighborhood is just five miles southwest of the Loop, the heart of downtown, where despite a bad economy, buildings continue to rise. Glass and steel glitter alongside Lake Michigan’s sparkling blue water. While the city’s skyscrapers are visible from Lawndale, the only things that glitter here are the bits of broken glass that line… [Read more…]
May 9, 2010
The Art of Dying will be available for Kindle users! Amazon.com has it ready now for pre-ordering. I’ll be checking about iPad, Nook, and other electronic readers.
May 6, 2010
I began exploring the issues that I eventually wrote about in The Art of Dying after visiting my great aunt who was dying of cancer. She was in a hospital bed that was in her apartment. I tell the full story in the book. But I left feeling that I simply didn’t know what to… [Read more…]
April 27, 2010
A new study finds that having faith in a God that cares helps patients recover from serious depression. Faith, the researchers found, was different than hope. Having hope for the future did not predict better health. In addition, having faith alone did not help patients. Rather faith aided those who were clinically depressed to better… [Read more…]
April 25, 2010
I’ve known Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove for five years, since writing about his community in Durham, North Carolina. Since then, Jonathan has written a number of books, and his latest is The Wisdom of Stability. Following is an excerpt about a group of Roman Catholic nuns whose practices during the death of a sister were attractive to… [Read more…]
April 7, 2010
On August 7 and 8, I’ll be speaking to health care professionals at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and to a Sunday School class at Park Street Church in Boston. Let us know if you’re in the area and would like more details. And email us if you’re in Boston and would like to be… [Read more…]
April 6, 2010
Last week, while I was ill, celebrating Easter, and enjoying time with family, I missed this excerpt in Newsweek. The excerpt is from the new book, Heaven: Our Enduring Fascination With the Afterlife, by Lisa Miller. (The full first chapter is available from Harper.) In most of our popular conceptions, we have bodies in heaven:… [Read more…]
April 1, 2010
from Christianity Today: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/aprilweb-only/114-42.0.html Jesus’ life is an example of the Christian life. His death is no different. Willing to submit to the will of his Father, even unto death, Jesus shows us the true cost of following God. But even in death, Jesus provides an example, not only of extreme obedience, but also of… [Read more…]
March 30, 2010
Paige Cunningham, executive director of The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity at Trinity International University, says in her endorsement of The Art of Dying: The Art of Dying takes the fear out of dying and replaces it with rich models of dying well. Drawn from a broad spectrum of historical, theological, bioethical, social and practical… [Read more…]
March 28, 2010
Patricia Hammond sings for the elderly, usually in nursing homes. It’s a unique and demanding profession, but the rewards, she writes, are immense. Ms. Hammond writes about the pleasures–and trials–of caring for those near death. In many ways, they’re irascible. Residents tell her to shut up. Others complain about their neighbors. And you never know… [Read more…]
May 10, 2010
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