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Reading can be useful, informative, and engaging. Sometimes it can also be a way of avoiding what is with us here and now. As with most things, it is good to keep a practical balance, in this case between reading what we choose to read, while also leaving enough opportunity to apply and embody our readings in this very moment. The following is a short introductory list of book titles dealing respectively with Death and Dying, Bereavement, Zen and Buddhism, and other relevant topics. If you would like to recommend for possible inclusion any other book that you may have found particularly useful but which is not listed here, please always feel free to send us your feedback.
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Coming Home - guide for carers and family members giving assistance to persons dying at home. Dying Well by Ira Bryock - end-of-life guide written by this hospice physician based on some of her patients' stories. Facing Death and Finding Hope by Christine Longaker - end-of-life guide, partly from a Tibetan Buddhist perspective, for patients, family, and caregivers. Final Gifts by Maggie Callanan and Patricia Kelley - two hospice nurses share their insights from tending to the dying, including their observations about what they call "Nearing Death Awareness". Living in the Light of Death by Larry Rosenberg - Buddhist-inspired self-help book advocating embracing pain, illness, and death as a way of being fully alive in the present moment. On Death and Dying by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross - introduction to Kubler-Ross's five stage model of the dying process. The Gifts of the Body. by Rebecca Brown - novel told from the point of view of a home care aid assisting people who are nearing death from AIDS. The Hospice Movement by Sandol Stoddard - history and practical instructions related to hospice care. The Hour of Our Death by Philippe Aries - historical overview of changing views and approaches to death and dying in Western culture. The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche - practical guide for end-of-life living based on the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. The Tibetan Book of the Dead translated by Chogyam Trungpa with Francesca Fremantle - modern translation of the ancient Tibetan guide to death and dying, with practical advice and prayers for recitation. The Zen of Living and Dying (also published as The Wheel of Life and Death) by Philip Kapleau - practical and spiritual end-of-life issues from a Zen perspective. Who Dies? by Stephen Levine - exploration of ways to keep present awareness in living and dying.
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Conquering the Mysteries and Lies of Grief by Sherry Russell - exploration of loss and grief and their emotional impact in different contexts. Grace and Grit by Ken Wilber - personal account from this well-known author of his five-year journey with his wife through marriage, her illness, suffering, and the eventual surrender to her death. Living through Mourning by Harriet Sarnoff Schiff - guide to working with different emotions associated with loss and grief. On Grief and Grieving by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross - guide to grief and grieving based on the author's five stage model of loss. The Courage to Grieve by Judy Tatelbaum - guide to working through the grief cycle. When There Are No Words by Charlie Walton - guide to working with grief and associated emotions.
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Buddhism Without Beliefs by Stephen Batchelor - modern introduction to the Buddha's teachings without most of the cultural and religious background. Nothing Special: Living Zen by Charlotte Beck and Steve Smith - introduction to Zen practice by Charlotte Joko Beck, founder of the Sand Diego Zen Center in the USA and Ordinary Mind Zen Centres worldwide. Opening the Hand of Thought by Kosho Uchiyama - introduction to Zen and Zen meditation by this former abbott of Antaiji monastery in Japan. Shobogenzo Zuimonki (also available as A Primer of Soto Zen) by Eihei Dogen Zenji - a collection of short and down-to-earth talks by Zen Master Dogen, founder of the 13th Century founder of the Japanese Soto Zen School. Taking the Path of Zen by Robert Aitken - introduction to Zen and Zen meditation by the founder of the Diamond Sangha in Hawaii. The Three Pillars of Zen by Philip Kapleau - introduction to Zen practice from the founder of the Rochester Zen Center in the USA. The Zen Teachings of Bodhidharma translated by Red Pine - teachings from the legendary fifth-century Indian Buddhist monk credited with having introduced Zen to East Asia. The Zen Teachings of "Homeless" Kodo by Kosho Uchiyama - commentary on the expressions and lifelong practice of Zen master Kodo Sawaki Roshi. Thoughts Without a Thinker by Mark Epstein - introduction to Buddhism and Western psychotherapy as approaches which can be complementary and mutually supportive. Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. by Shunryu Suzuki - introduction to Zen practice from the founding abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center.
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Japanese Death Poems compiled by Yoel Hoffmann - collection of poems by Zen monks and Haiku poets on the verge of death. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl - existential self-help book based on the author's personal experiences and survival in a Nazi concentration camp. When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron - self-help book written by a Buddhist nun in the Tibetan tradition on how to approach challenging situations and emotional states. Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn - guide to mindfulness in everyday life, written by the founder of the pioneering Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.
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