Happier Endings A Meditation on Life and Death [Paperback]

Called “cathartic” byThe Wall Street Journal, this wise and affirming book helps you accept and prepare for death through important conversations about what matters most.

“Extreme empathy with extreme tough-mindedness.” That’s how David Brooks, ofThe New York Times, describes Erica Brown. InHappier Endings, she helps us confront our fears about death—for ourselves and our loved ones—and demonstrates how the last days of life can be among the most inspiring if we learn to leave a legacy of words and values, to forgive and apologize, and to make important decisions.

Along the way, she introduces us to people of all faiths who deal with death in enlightening ways, including a mother who arranged for her children to sprinkle her ashes on a favorite ski slope; an ex-nun who prepares people to die; a group of women who ritually wash their dead; and a family whose grandfather’s ethical will is read by his survivors each year. After readingHappier Endings, you will have a greater understanding of what a good death can be and what a life well lived looks like. Cathartic Brown addresses this painful subject with eloquence, honesty, and clarity; we can reckon with death, she avers, to change the lives we have now, to live fully and sincerely in the present moment, whatever we feel might happen afterward. “Happier Endingsbrings a cheery note to a dreary subject. . . . We have no choice about being mortal, but we do have some freedom, asHappier Endingsreminds us, in choosing how we live with this awareness and how we make our exit.”“With sensitivity, humor, and unflinching honesty. . . [Happier Endings] is at times emotionally eviscerating but ultimately inspiring, as it expounds upon a simple truth: no one knows what tomorrow will bring.”“Brown has what many people are looking for these days….conviction.” Erica Brown is lCž