Our library in Hewett Centre is open every Sunday after service during Coffee Hour in Hewett Centre, and our Library Team offers related reading lists based on the topic of the Sunday service. Here is their list for the upcoming service featuring Ngaio Davis on Sunday, July 27, 2025 at 11 a.m. All are welcome in Hewett Centre after the Sunday service to check out some books and to have coffee and conversation.
VanU library books related to this Sunday’s sermon:
1. Dealing Creatively with Death: A Manual of Death Education and Simple Burial, by Ernest Morgan, 1988, 306.9 MOR [Gift of the Memorial Society of B.C. In memory of Becky Gillis, former UCV board Chairperson. From LibraryThing: “… small encyclopedia of death-related problems: social, emotional, philosophical, and practical. It is written simply and sensitively, drawing substantially on direct experience. …”].
2. Talking About Death, by Virginia Morris, 2004, 155.9 MOR [From LibraryThing: “Even in this candidly confessional age, we’ve been conditioned to avoid discussions of death. Our youth-worshipping culture does everything to deny death, which is why, when the end nears, most of us are inadequately prepared to deal with it. And the cost of that is great: many are haunted by memories of how inappropriately or painfully or uncomfortably their parents and grandparents died. Many of us avoid even considering the options, in all their complexity, that we will most likely face one day, given our new longevity and the profound advances in medicine. With its wise and very compelling argument that all of us, at any age, can and should face death before it faces us, Talking About Death addresses the cultural, personal, medical, and legal concerns that are necessary for us–as individuals and as a society–to prepare for a good death, a death where the dying are in control and not, as is too often the case, caught in a downward spiral of medical intervention and misunderstood intentions. Virginia Morris skillfully weaves together personal stories and practical matters, scientific fact and spiritual sensitivity into an important book about how we can achieve a greater sense of peace in dying, and rediscover the art of living.”].
3. The Courage to Laugh: Humor, Hope, and Healing in the Face of Death and Dying, by Allen Klein, 1998, 291.4 KLE [From LibraryThing: “… Illustrating the inherent importance of the ability to laugh, Klein gives readers the power to face the end of life with dignity and compassion. Based on the author’s years of giving speeches and leading workshops for patients and their caregivers and families, The Courage to Laugh will be the first book to: * show how patients use humor to cope when life is threatened * offer hope and encouragement to readers dealing with loss * give readers permission to laugh when they feel like crying * explain how popular culture can ease death-related fears * provide uplifting quotes and jokes. …”].
4. Sacred Dying: Creating Rituals for Embracing the End of Life, by Megory Anderson, 2003, 155.9 AND [From LibraryThing: “Explores difficult questions surrounding the act of dying and attendant care, offering thoughtful rituals and prayers to support the needs of the dying while comforting the living.”].
5. Living with Death and Dying, by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, 1982, 155.9 KUB [Gift of Caroline Jones. From LibraryThing: “In this compassionate and moving guide to communicating with the terminally ill, Dr. Elisabeth Küebler-Ross, the world’s foremost expert on death and dying, shares her tools for understanding how the dying convey their innermost knowledge and needs. Expanding on the workshops that have made her famous and loved around the world, she shows us the importance of meaningful dialogue in helping patients to die with peace and dignity.”].
6. How We Die: Reflections on Life’s Final Chapter, by Sherwin B. Nuland, 1994, 616.07 NUL [Gift of Arthur Hughes. From LibraryThing, the book jacket: “There is a vast literature on death and dying, but there are few reliable accounts of the ways in which we die. The intimate account of how various diseases take away life, offered in How We Die, is not meant to prompt horror or terror but to demythologize the process of dying to help us rid ourselves of that fear of the terra incognita. Though the avenues of death – AIDS, cancer, heart attack, Alzheimer’s, accident, and stroke – are common, each of us will die in a way different from any that has gone before. Each one of death’s diverse appearances is as distinctive as that singular face we each show during our lives. Behind each death is a story. … tells some stories of dying that reveal not only why someone dies but how. He offers a portrait of the experience of dying that makes clear the choices that can be made to allow each of us his or her own death.”].
7. I Don’t Know What to Say, by Robert Buckman, 1988, 155.9 BUC [Gift of Suzanne Spencer. From LibraryThing: “When people we love are dying, we all too often are unable to help them — or even talk to them — or face our own conflicting feelings about the impending loss. This authoritative and empathetic guide demystifies the dying process and offers practical advice for the friends and families of the terminally ill. … Dr. Robert Buckman, a distinguished oncologist who was himself once diagnosed as having a fatal illness, confronts these questions: — What should a patient be told about his or her illness? — How can the patient’s supporters cope with demands that may seem angry and irrational? — What are the crucial differences between caring for a dying parent, spouse, or child? — How can you help someone dying from AIDS, cancer, or a dementing illness?”].
8. Meeting Death: In Hospital, Hospice, and at Home, by Heather Robertson, 2001, 362.1 ROB [Gift of Patience Towler. From LibraryThing: “… it not only looks at how health-care practitioners deal with death, but it also looks at the cultural meanings we give to death and dying and the place we allow mortality in our lives. … The Greek myth of the boatman who ferries the dying from this world across the River Styx, and the modern myth, expounded by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, of five easy steps to a peaceful death, are two of the many stops on this extensive tour of a huge topic. She describes how various hospitals deal with the dying and goes in search of palliative care and the practice of hospice. Pain management, and the medical establishment’s reluctance to prescribe morphine to the dying, are stops on her trip, as is a close look at home care. Other features are a trip to Uganda, a country devastated by AIDS; a tour of Gracel, a discussion of why some have chosen assisted suicide; and the story of Beowulf and Grendel’s mother. …”].
9. What Dying People Want: Practical Wisdom for the End of Life, by David Kuhl, 2003, 155.9 KUH [From LibraryThing: “An internationally renowned palliative care physician offers sensitive guidance, solace, and helpful strategies for people living with a terminal illness and their caregivers”].
10. Living through Mourning: Finding Comfort and Hope When a Loved One Has Died, by Harriet Sarnoff Schiff, 1987, 150 SCH [From LibraryThing: “Losing a loved one is one of the hardest parts of life. With sensitivity and wisdom, Harriet Sarnoff Schiff shares advice to help mourners find comfort amidst grief and hope when a loved one has passed. Supported by interviews with the bereaved and with funeral directors, therapists, and clergymen, this reference helps guide mourners through the grieving process.”].
11. Dying Well: Peace and Possibilities at the End of Life, by Ira Byock MD, 1998, 306.88 [From LibraryThing: “The longtime director of a hospice in his hometown, and a prominent spokesperson for the hospice movement, Dr. Byock believes that the day is at hand when no pain among the dying will be considered unmanageable. Through the true stories of patients, he shows us that much important emotional work can be accomplished in the final months, weeks, and even days of life. Dying Well brings us to the homes and bedsides of families with whom Dr. Byock has worked, telling stories of love and reconciliation in the face of tragedy, pain, and conflict. It provides a blueprint for families, showing them how to deal with doctors, how to talk to friends and relatives, and how to make the end of life as meaningful and precious as the beginning.”].
12. Straight Talk about Death for Teenagers: How to Cope with Losing Someone You Love, by Earl A. Grollman, 1993, 155.9 GRO [From LibraryThing: “Suggests ways to deal with the grief and other emotions felt after the death of a loved one and to discover how to go on living.”].
13. Talking About Death: A Dialogue Between Parent and Child, by Earl A. Grollman and another contributor of Gisela Heau, 1989, 392 GR [Published by Beacon Press. From LibraryThing: “A read-along picture book explaining death to young children with an extensive guide for parents. Includes lists of pertinent organizations, books, tapes, and films.”].
14. Helping Children Grieve, by Theresa Huntley, 1999, 155.9 HUN [From LibraryThing: “This straightforward book helps adults talk to children in meaningful ways, nurturing their faith and building their emotional strength during a time of crisis. The author explains common reactions (emotional, physical, and behavioral) parents can expect from children of all ages, and offers adults the spiritual tools they need to help children cope with a significant loss.”].
15. Timely Death: Considering Our Last Rights, by Anne Mullens, 1996, 197.7 MUL [Gift of Arthur Hughes. From LibraryThing, several Canadian newspaper reviews: “”Timely Death offers insights for anyone wanting to know more about how to deal with death should oneself or a loved one be forced to confront the reality of a terminal illness.” – London Free Press “A book that gives all sides a fair hearing…. Its great value is its calm and thorough view of a complicated, heart-rending question.” – The Toronto Star “A valuable contribution to rational discourse over assisted suicide for the terminally ill. — Mullens is to be commended for her work in helping to bring the issues of death and dying out from behind the hospital curtains.” -Vancouver Sun “Mullens brings both passion and compassion to her work –. [Her] deft story-telling style makes this a compelling book, and an important one as we all head towards life’s last great adventure.” – Victoria Times-Colonist “Even-handed, thorough, and often moving.” – The Globe and Mail”].
16. A Chosen Death: The Dying Confront Assisted Suicide, by Lonny Shavelson, 1995, 179.7 SHA [Gift of Arthur Hughes. From LibraryThing: “This text tells the stories of five terminally-ill people who seriously considered suicide as they were dying. It describes the emotional, spiritual and intellectual questions that each person faced as death neared.”].
17. Radical Acts of Love: How We Find Hope at the End of Life, by Janie Brown, 2021, 155.937 [From LibraryThing: “A profoundly moving account of an oncology nurse’s conversations with the dying.”].
18. Death’s Door: Modern Dying and the Ways We Grieve: A Cultural Study, by Sandra M. Gilbert, 2006, 155.9 GIL [Gift of Jack Jefferson. From LibraryThing: “… explores our relationship to death through literature, history, poetry and societal practices. Seneca wrote, “Anyone can stop a man’s life but no one his death; a thousand doors open on to it.” This inevitability has left varying marks on all human cultures. Exploring expressions of faith, burial customs, photographs, poems, and memoirs, Sandra M. Gilbert examines both the changelessness of grief and the changing customs that mark contemporary mourning.”].