Heartwood
By Barbara Becker
195 pages
What’s it about?
This is a small book of intertwined stories about Barbara Becker’s relationship with death and dying. She explores the possibility of embracing death and how that knowledge will then enhance your life. The author is an interfaith minister so she touches on many different religions and spiritual customs involving passing into the next life.What did it make me think about?
DyingShould I read it?
This was a comprehensive look at what it means to confront death and then use this knowledge to enhance the days you have left. The sincerity of the author, and her wish to be respectful at every turn, could come across as saccharine sweet to some readers. “We told the boys that our individual actions to care for the environment mattered- composting, recycling, hanging our clothes instead of putting them in the dryer.” She is very earnest and seems incredibly kind- but in my experience there is also a lot of laughter in that last bit of life. Without some humor- there would be no respite from the pain. I would have liked to hear a little bit more about that part of the journey. I, myself would love to have coffee with Barbara Becker- and I am sure we would share a laugh….Quote-
“It occurred to me that one doesn’t learn much resilience when life goes “right” most of the time. It was this moment- the one that was testing me to the core- where the potential for growth lay.”What’s it about?
This is a small book of intertwined stories about Barbara Becker’s relationship with death and dying. She explores the possibility of embracing death and how that knowledge will then enhance your life. The author is an interfaith minister so she touches on many different religions and spiritual customs involving passing into the next life.
What did it make me think about?
Dying
Should I read it?
This was a comprehensive look at what it means to confront death and then use this knowledge to enhance the days you have left. The sincerity of the author, and her wish to be respectful at every turn, could come across as saccharine sweet to some readers. “We told the boys that our individual actions to care for the environment mattered- composting, recycling, hanging our clothes instead of putting them in the dryer.” She is very earnest and seems incredibly kind- but in my experience there is also a lot of laughter in that last bit of life. Without some humor- there would be no respite from the pain. I would have liked to hear a little bit more about that part of the journey. I, myself would love to have coffee with Barbara Becker- and I am sure we would share a laugh….
Quote-
“It occurred to me that one doesn’t learn much resilience when life goes “right” most of the time. It was this moment- the one that was testing me to the core- where the potential for growth lay.”
