Encountering the Edge: What People Told Me Before They Died

by Karen B. Kaplan

Unencumbered by religious agendas and pat answers,Encountering the Edge satisfies one's curiosity concerning what people believe in, shrug their shoulders at, laugh at, and most care about as they face Act 3,Scene 3, of their lives. Readers will join Hospice Chaplain Kaplan as she visits her patients and their family members, and share her sense of adventure and openness to the experience. The author also reveals the inner workings of a hospice agency from a chaplain’s viewpoint both on the road and in the office.

Readers will encounter odd, poignant, revealing, and even amusing characters, such as a countercultural type who always greeted Kaplan with “Hey, doll!” and a World War Two veteran who beat the odds and left hospice to live well for over a year. Kaplan also illuminates what patients think will happen in the hereafter, as well as her own path and deeper motivations for entering this career. In the last chapter, Kaplan explores what it would be like to be a hospice patient herself, talking with a seasoned chaplain who gently lets her express her beliefs, regrets, sources of meaning, and hopes.

Encountering the Edge centers on this forbidding topic with the aim of allowing readers to feel safe in facing this unknown territory.

154 pages, Paperback

First published June 10, 2014

Reviews

[Karen Bartell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was drawn into Kaplan's story-telling. Death is particularly poignant to me. Last week, the coworker, who sat behind me, passed away ten days into retirement. I didn't want to read about death-bed revelations, but Kaplan's prose and style drew me into the story-telling 'campfire's' circle.
What I most enjoyed was the ecumenical approach of Kaplan, a Jewish chaplain, who had no trouble collaborating with a Muslim on behalf of a Baptist patient. Kindness and irreverent humor transcend.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Karen's humorous, compassionate, and insightful stories about the 7 years she spent as a hospice chaplain help readers to demystify the experiences of dying and death. I love the fact that Kaplan doesn't take herself too seriously and is able to share stories of her "mistakes" as well as her "successes." As a hospice volunteer, I am familiar with the terrain of end of life care. I believe that this book has much to offer to families, hospice volunteers, chaplains and others as they come to terms with death. They will find that this book, far from being all "doom and gloom" offers tales of laughter and humour as well.

[Catherine Greenfeder · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a hospice chaplain for seven years, Karen Kaplan encountered many people from diverse religious backgrounds including her own Judaic faith, and life experiences as they encounter the edge between life and death. Kaplan tells of not only their feelings, thoughts, and questions but also her own experiences as a chaplain in a sometimes thankless, often overlooked or misunderstood, but rewarding field of service. Most memorable was the devotion she shows and warmth and humanity for those she assists and yet manages to keep a much needed sense of humor and wit. Her vivid prose, conversational style, and personal connections which are important too make this a very interesting and moving collection of true stories that draw you in and make you think long after you finish reading them.

[Amy Glenn]

I really enjoyed this book and wrote a professional review of it for my Philly.com blog. Here you go: http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/bi...