Life Lessons (Book Review)
Annie Thermidor
Life Lessons from Elizabeth Kubler-Ross and David
Kessler.
Main theme:
In this book, Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross teamed up with end-of-life specialist David Kessler to write for the first time about life and living. The authors present fourteen lessons passed on to us from the dying to help us deal better with the issues we face in life.
Both authors consider the dying as great teachers because, "it's when we are pushed to the edge of life that we see life more clearly" (Kessler & Kubler-Ross,
2000, p15).
Rather than writing in one unitary voice, the two authors speak separately on personal experiences and case histories, with each writer's portion of text starting with their initials. Each lesson is comprised within fourteen chapters, starting from authenticity and ending with happiness. The authors also go into detail about the lessons of guilt, fear, loss, anger, power, surrender, forgiveness, love, relationships, patience, time and play. Behind this book is a drive to get the reader to gain more awareness of him or herself in order to enjoy the experience of life. Not all the lessons presented are enjoyable and mastering them all is quite impossible. However, learning these lessons can enrich the texture of our lives. In fact, their purpose is to prevent us from having any "unfinished business" at the time of our death. "The more lessons we learn the more business we finish, and the more fully we live, really live life."
(Kessler & Kubler-Ross, 2000, p 12).
How this book relates to the overall course: This book is unique because of its focus on life and living. I appreciate the fact that the authors emphasize on learning from the dying because I feel it's one of the main goals of our class. Seeing life from its outer edge, one is compelled to view life as a privilege, a gift. Sadly, it often takes a life threatening event for us to realize the bounty of our existence. "The dying learns a great deal at
Life Lessons from Elizabeth Kubler-Ross and David
Kessler.
Main theme:
In this book, Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross teamed up with end-of-life specialist David Kessler to write for the first time about life and living. The authors present fourteen lessons passed on to us from the dying to help us deal better with the issues we face in life.
Both authors consider the dying as great teachers because, "it's when we are pushed to the edge of life that we see life more clearly" (Kessler & Kubler-Ross,
2000, p15).
Rather than writing in one unitary voice, the two authors speak separately on personal experiences and case histories, with each writer's portion of text starting with their initials. Each lesson is comprised within fourteen chapters, starting from authenticity and ending with happiness. The authors also go into detail about the lessons of guilt, fear, loss, anger, power, surrender, forgiveness, love, relationships, patience, time and play. Behind this book is a drive to get the reader to gain more awareness of him or herself in order to enjoy the experience of life. Not all the lessons presented are enjoyable and mastering them all is quite impossible. However, learning these lessons can enrich the texture of our lives. In fact, their purpose is to prevent us from having any "unfinished business" at the time of our death. "The more lessons we learn the more business we finish, and the more fully we live, really live life."
(Kessler & Kubler-Ross, 2000, p 12).
How this book relates to the overall course: This book is unique because of its focus on life and living. I appreciate the fact that the authors emphasize on learning from the dying because I feel it's one of the main goals of our class. Seeing life from its outer edge, one is compelled to view life as a privilege, a gift. Sadly, it often takes a life threatening event for us to realize the bounty of our existence. "The dying learns a great deal at
References: Kessler, D. & Kubler-Ross. E. (2000). Life lessons: two experts on Death and dying teach us about the mysteries of Life and living. New York: Touchstone.