Christine Longaker's experience with death and care of the dying began in 1976 when her husband was diagnosed with acute leukemia at the age of twenty-four. Since his death, she has devoted her life to ease the suffering of those facing death. In Facing Death and Finding Hope, she clearly and compassionately identifies the typical fears and struggles experienced by the dying and their families. The core of this book is presented in "Four Tasks of Living and Dying," using the Tibetan Buddhist perspective on death to provide a new framework of meaning. A book of great depth and grace, it is destined to become a classic in the literature on death and dying.
I really appreciate the different perspectives the author brings together. By weaving together person narratives (her own and others she's worked with) along with the sometimes more abstract psychological and spiritual aspects, she presents a compelling approach to working with the dying.
This book helped me deal with my existential depression and death of my Uncle. It's a good book and has little of the pseudoscientific New Aged psychic woo that pisses me off.