Death & Grief Books

The Last Lecture (Thorndike Press Large Print Nonfiction Series)

Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow

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• The Last Lecture
• Hardcover

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 816 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand."
--Randy Pausch

A lot of professors give talks titled "The Last Lecture." Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. And while they speak, audiences can't help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?

When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave--"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"--wasn't about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because "time is all you have...and you may find one day that you have less than you think"). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.

In this book, Randy Pausch has combined the humor, inspiration and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form. It is a book that will be shared for generations to come.

Rescuing Sprite: A Dog Lover's Story of Joy and Anguish

Mark R. Levin

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Total reviews: 352 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

A STUNNINGLY INTIMATE LOOK AT THE LOVE BETWEEN A FAMILY AND A DOG WHICH MOVINGLY SHOWS THAT "IN THE END, WE HUMANS ARE THE LUCKY ONES."

Although Mark Levin is known as a constitutional lawyer and a nationally syndicated broadcaster, he is, first and foremost, a dog lover. In 1998, he and his family welcomed a half-Border Collie/half-Cocker Spaniel they named Pepsi into their lives. Six years later, his wife and son persuaded him to adopt a dog from the local shelter, a Spaniel mix. It turned out he was older than originally thought, and he was the most beautiful dog they'd ever seen. They named him Sprite. Their lives would never be the same.

During the next two years, Sprite and Pepsi were inseparable. And Sprite's bond with the Levin family deepened. Friends, neighbors, and even Mark's radio audience came to know and love Sprite. But Sprite's health deteriorated -- even as his spirits remained high and his beauty and grace continued to inspire. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas 2006, the Levin family said their emotional final good-bye. Crushed and consumed with grief, Mark turned to family, friends, and fans for help. But new hope came when the Levins least expected it.

Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson

Mitch Albom

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Total reviews: 2121 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

It’s been ten years since Mitch Albom first shared the wisdom of Morrie Schwartz with the world. Now–twelve million copies later–in a new afterword, Mitch Albom reflects again on the meaning of Morrie’s life lessons and the gentle, irrevocable impact of their Tuesday sessions all those years ago. . .

_____

Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher, or a colleague. Someone older, patient and wise, who understood you when you were young and searching, helped you see the world as a more profound place, gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it.

For Mitch Albom, that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly twenty years ago.

Maybe, like Mitch, you lost track of this mentor as you made your way, and the insights faded, and the world seemed colder. Wouldn't you like to see that person again, ask the bigger questions that still haunt you, receive wisdom for your busy life today the way you once did when you were younger?

Mitch Albom had that second chance. He rediscovered Morrie in the last months of the older man's life. Knowing he was dying, Morrie visited with Mitch in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final “class”: lessons in how to live.

Tuesdays with Morrie is a magical chronicle of their time together, through which Mitch shares Morrie's lasting gift with the world.

Izzy & Lenore: Two Dogs, an Unexpected Journey, and Me

Jon Katz

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Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

In his previous books, New York Times bestselling author Jon Katz introduced us to the delightful menagerie at Bedlam Farm, including Izzy, the unforgettable border collie rescue. Now, in Izzy & Lenore, Katz delves deeper into his connection with the beautiful, once-abandoned dog, learning yet again about the unexpected places animals can take us. Affectionate and intuitive, Izzy is unlike any dog Katz has encountered, and the two undertake a journey Katz could not have imagined without the arrival of a new companion: a spirited, bright-eyed black Labrador puppy named Lenore.

As trained hospice volunteers visiting homes and nursing facilities in upstate New York, Katz and Izzy bring comfort and canine companionship to people who most need it. An eighty-year-old Alzheimer’s patient smiles for the first time in months when she feels Izzy’s soft fur. A retired logger joyfully remembers his own beloved dog when he sees Izzy. As Izzy bonds with patients and Katz focuses on their families, the author begins to come to terms with his own life, discovering dark realities he has never confronted. Meanwhile, Lenore–quickly dubbed the Hound of Love–arrives at Bedlam. Her genial personality and boundless capacity for affection steer Katz out of the shadows, rekindle his love of working with dogs, and restore his connection to the farm and the animals and people around him.

Humorous and deeply moving, Izzy & Lenore is a story of a man confronting his past, embracing the blessings of his current life, and rediscovering the meaning of friendship, family, and faith. Katz shares an uplifting tale of love, compassion, and the rich and complex relationships between dogs and their humans.

The Camel Club

David Baldacci

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Total reviews: 242 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The Camel Club. Four members, four stories, one philosophy. Men with no past and no future, they spend their time studying wild conspiracy theories that reach to the highest levels of government. One fateful night ,The Camel Club witnesses a shocking murder and realizes that even their wildest theories are not as horrifying as the truth...

Soon, they have an ally in the person of Alex Ford, a career Secret Service agent who,while investigating the murder, realizes that a far larger crime is being put into place.Ford and the members of The Camel Club must subvert a misguided mission that threatens to usher in a terrifying new era, sculpted by one man's horribly distorted vision of justice...

THE CAMEL CLUB is vintage Baldacci:intelligent, terrifying, thrilling fiction that could be tomorrow's fact.

Survivor (Unabridged)

Chuck Palahniuk

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Total reviews: 386 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Survivor: A Novel 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk *****

Survivor is the story of where it all went wrong. The point in our lives where we have all had choices to make. The choices that affect the rest of our lives. Survivor is the search for something far and something big, maybe something bigger than all of us, it is one mans search for something true.

In this apocalyptic tale Tendor Branson relives his entire live in an attempt to find closure. As he retells his story of servitude, and his survival from the same things that constrict us all we realize the things that are actually important and the emphasis we put on somethings just isn't worth it.

Survivor was UpChuck's second novel and possibly his best. Written with great literary prose and clever anecdotes it is both his most uplifting and insightful, as well as his most humoured and comical. Chuck Palahniuk did it again with Survivor.

Editorial Review:

Tender Branson, the last surviving member of the Creedish death cult, has commandeered a Boeing 747, emptied of passengers, in order to tell his story to the plane's black box before it crashes. Brought up by the repressive cult and, like all Creedish younger sons, hired out as a domestic servant, Tender finds himself suddenly famous when his fellow cult members all commit suicide. As media messiah, he ascends to the very top of the freak-show heap before finally and apocalyptically spiralling out of control.

Wherever You Go, There You Are

Jon Kabat-zinn

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Features:

• Made with the Best Quality Material with your child in mind.
• Top Quality Children's Item.

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Total reviews: 91 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A Keeper 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is a book to keep in your library for periodic re-reading. I wish I hadn't waited so long this time, to re-read it. Understanding and practicing this "philosophy" can change one's life for the positive.

Kabat-Zinn & Tolle 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I read this book after reading Ekhart Tolle's two books and listening to Jon Kabat-Zinn on Oprah's radio program. His ideas parallel Tolle. I devoured the book and recommend it to anyone who wants to grow in mindfulness.

Editorial Review:

The time-honored national bestseller, updated with a new afterword, celebrating 10 years of influencing the way we live.

When Wherever You Go, There You Are was first published in 1994, no one could have predicted that the book would launch itself onto bestseller lists nationwide and sell over 750,000 copies to date. Ten years later, the book continues to change lives. In honor of the book's 10th anniversary, Hyperion is proud to be releasing the book with a new afterword by the author, and to share this wonderful book with an even larger audience.

Three Weeks with My Brother

Nicholas Sparks, Micah Sparks

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 181 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

For those with siblings...a must read. I loved it! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

After having 4 kids, most books would put me a sleep. I could not put this book down. What a great true life story about this fantastic author.

Just alright 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I just finished this book this morning and I have to say it was just average. Having just come back from a trip with my own brother and being of similar age to the Sparks brothers, I connected with this book on some level, but not completly. For instance, they refer to each other as "Brother" or " Little Brother". I have never really heard brothers regularly refer to each other in that way. I also never realy connected with the family as a whole, so I wasn't vested in the loss of his father or mother as there was a sense of detachement for both throughout the book. His sister's struggle and ultimate death was hard to read due to my own relationship with my younger sister, so the last third of the book gripped me more than the first 2/3s.



All in all, it is an average book. If I were to rate it, "Tuesday's with Morrie" was a 10 on a 10 point scale, the "Tender Bar" was a 9 while this book was an even 6.

Editorial Review:

In January 2003, Nicholas Sparks and his brother Micah set off on a three-week trip around the world. It was to mark a milestone in their lives, for at 37 and 38 respectively, they were now the only surviving members of their family. As Nicholas and Micah travel the globe, the intimate story of their family unfolds in the details of the untimely deaths of their parents and only sister. Against the backdrop of the wonders of the world, the Sparks brothers band together to heal, to remember, and to learn to live life to the fullest.

When Bad Things Happen to Good People

Harold S. Kushner

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Total reviews: 126 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Kushner's View of God is Wrong 1 out of 5 stars.
2 of 5 people found this review helpful.

Kushner argues that God is too weak to stop the bad things of life.

He writes, "If God can't make my sickness go away, what good is He? Who needs Him? God does not want you to be sick or crippled. He didn't make you have this problem, and He doesn't want you to go on having it, but He can't make it go away. That is something which is too hard even for God."

That's not logical. How can the God be too weak to change the physical world that He created? Jesus heals the blind and crippled, changed water into wine, walked on water, and was resurrected -- all things that Kushner would say God is too weak to accomplish. Of course, Kushner is not a Christian, but a Jew, but does that mean he doesn't believe in any of the miracles of the Torah, such as the parting of the Red Sea?

And this statement is outrageous: "Are you capable of forgiving and loving God even when you have found out that He is not perfect, even when He has let you down and disappointed you by permitting bad luck and sickness and cruelty in His world, and permitting some of those things to happen to you? Can you learn to love and forgive Him despite His limitations ...?"

Yes, Kushner's God is weak. But Kushner's God is of his own creation. The true God of the Bible and of Truth and of the Universe is strong and perfect. He is Creator and Savior.

Buy "Mere Christianity" or "A Grief Observed," both by C.S. Lewis, to get a true understanding of God and suffering.

Editorial Review:

When Harold Kushner’s three-year-old son was diagnosed with a degenerative disease and that he would only live until his early teens, he was faced with one of life’s most difficult questions: Why, God? Years later, Rabbi Kushner wrote this straightforward, elegant contemplation of the doubts and fears that arise when tragedy strikes. Kushner shares his wisdom as a rabbi, a parent, a reader, and a human being. Often imitated but never superseded, When Bad Things Happen to Good People is a classic that offers clear thinking and consolation in times of sorrow.
Since its original publication in 1981, When Bad Things Happen to Good People has brought solace and hope to millions of readers and its author has become a nationally known spiritual leader.

Spark Notes The Bell Jar

Sylvia Plath, SparkNotes Editors

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Total reviews: 485 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Get your "A" in gear!

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