Heartwood: The Art of Living with the End in Mind

by Barbara Becker

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Book cover for Heartwood

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When her earliest childhood friend is diagnosed with a terminal illness, Becker sets off on a quest to immerse herself in what it means to be mortal. Can we live our lives more fully knowing some day we will die?

With a keen eye towards that which makes life worth living, interfaith minister, mom and perpetual seeker Barbara Becker recounts stories where life and death intersect in unexpected ways. She volunteers on a hospice floor, becomes an eager student of the many ways people find meaning at the end of life, and accompanies her parents in their final days.

Becker inspires readers to live with the end in mind and proves that turning toward loss rather than away from it is the only true way to live life to its fullest. Just as with the heartwood of a tree-the central core that is no longer alive yet supports the newer growth rings-the dead become an enduring source of strength to the living.

With life-affirming prose, Becker helps us see that that grief is not a problem to be solved, but rather a sacred invitation-an opportunity to let go into something even greater.a love that will inform all the days of our lives.
  • ISBN10 1250095980
  • ISBN13 9781250095985
  • Publish Date 11 May 2021
  • Publish Status Active
  • Publish Country US
  • Imprint Flatiron Books
  • Format Hardcover
  • Pages 224
  • Language English