What We're Reading...

 To submit a review for our site please visit : Book Review Guidelines

If you purchase any of these books at Amazon using our link, a small portion of the sale is credited to The Educational Center ~ at no additional cost to you: Amazon .

DYING WELL Peace and Possibilities At The End of Life by Ira Byock, MD ~ A review by Tillie Tice

Published by Riverhead Books, New York, 1997, 290 pages

As fascinating and provocative a book as I've read was Ira Byock's DYING WELL. Dr. Byock references an array of dynamics at play within every human who approaches the moment that life, as we have known it, is ending. Telling stories from his experiences as a Hospice physician, Dr. Byock clearly illustrates his thesis that no one must come to the end of life riddled with fear, or with pain, or die alone. Choices can be made, regardless of the circumstances, by any individual willing to look squarely at the predictability of death, and explore the possibilities available for preserving high quality of life up to the moment of death.

Most people that I know assume that providing primary care for a dying loved one is to be a heavy burden which will consume the caregiver's quality of life. In our society there is often a veil which preludes a patient, or a potential caregiver, from seeing possibilities for relief of suffering, deep healing, and unimaginable peace embodied within the experience of receiving and providing such care. Confronting death too often embodies limited visions of deep suffering, loss and emptiness making it impossible to have life-giving conversations about the bonds of love and gratitude that live between the patient, the caregiver and other members of the family. When patients die alone, or in sterile environments, the essential conversations often are not had. Conflicts are not expressed or resolved thus allowing unspoken and unhealed wounds to carry-on past the time of death only to intensify feelings of isolation and to become heart-weights into the future.

Dr. Byock's work exposes alternative ways to approach illness, physical and mental pain, loneliness, and impending death. This book has potential to open a reader to a view of death as a natural normal progression of life. Healing is not exclusively limited to physical healing. Illness and death offer unlimited opportunities for personal growth. An approach to dying is revealed in this book which offers possibilities for personal transformation in the lives of both the caregivers and the dying.

Questions for consideration:

• What do I know about avoidance of thinking about death? My own? Another's?
• What are my assumptions about the circumstances of impending death? Mine? Another's
• What is the legacy I would like to live into impending death?
• What has to change to accomplish the legacy I want?
• What is the Cost of the changes? What is the promise?

The Book Thief ~ a review by Patricia Koch

Author, Marcus Zusak

Publication date, September, 2007

Publisher, Alfred A. Knopf

When I told a friend this summer that I would be taking my 18 year-old granddaughter to Germany in September, she put this book into my hands with the directive, "You have to read this book before you go, and your granddaughter needs to read it, too." We did. Both the town of Dachau and the concentration camp that made the name so infamous were made much more alive for us, with the increased awareness that Jews and non-Jews alike suffered at the hands of the Nazis.

This is a story told by Death. An interesting point of view perhaps, but as it is set in Germany during World War II, it seems entirely appropriate. It is also a story of a young girl, Liesel, who in spite of having a life that no one would wish on anyone, still manages to have glimpses of pleasure through many small things, including the few books that she manages to acquire (or rather, steal). Liesel finds herself suddenly alone and orphaned when her parents are imprisoned by the Nazis and her beloved brother dies en route to their new home.

The story follows Liesel over several years as she learns the true meaning of family through her caring new Papa and her friendships with Max, the Jew the family hides in their basement and Rudy, the boy next door.

Zusak's Death, as narrator, is simultaneously dispassionate about his work and the impact it can have while striving to understand humanity's resilience. Says Death, "A human doesn't have a heart like mine. The human heart is a line, whereas my own is a circle, and I have the endless ability to be in the right place at the right time. The consequence of this is that I'm always finding humans at their best and worst. I see their ugly and their beauty, and I wonder how the same thing can be both."

Despite being framed in arguably the most horrific period in human history, "The Book Thief" is a beautiful story. You will laugh and cry, often at the same time. To add extra punch to the story, it appears that it is the true story of the author's grandmother. When you consider this, you realize how truly resilient we humans are.

I recommended and led a book group discussion of this book at my Episcopal church last month. Many said it was one of the best books they had read.

Unprotected Texts: The Bible's Surprising Contradictions about Sex and Desire ~ a review by The Rev. Courtney Davis Shoemaker

Author: Jennifer Wright Knust

Year of Publication: 2011

Publisher: HarperOne

Have you ever wondered about the many contradictions found in Bible about sex and desire? In this day and age people seem to often quote scripture to remind us who is "in" and who is "out." Isn't that what the Holiness Code is for? Don't Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy make perfectly clear about what God thinks about sex?

Quite the contrary.

Jennifer Wright Knust, an assistant professor of religion at Boston University and an ordained American Baptist pastor, takes us more fully into the passages that seem to divide many religious believers today. Her thoughtful and pastoral approach helps the reader to more fully explore the Holiness Code as well as the biblical stories of David and Jonathan, David and Bathsheba, Ruth and Boaz, and many others. The chapters are: The Bible and the Joy of Sex, Biblical Marriage, The Evil Impulse, Sexual Politics, Strange Flesh and Bodily Parts. Each chapter explores the topic in ways that are accessible to all readers, not just biblical specialists. Knust uses her heart and her mind to address issues that are central to who we are as sexual beings and how scripture can not be so easily used to address sex and desire. This book is especially relevant to lay leaders, pastors and seminarians who find themselves discussing these topics in their communities.

Some Questions to Consider:

How has scripture influenced your own thoughts about sex and desire?

Growing up, what were you taught about sex and gender through scripture?

How do you see sex or sexual relationships depicted in our society today, especially in reference to how scripture in used?

Reread 1 and 2 Samuel after reading Chapter 1 of the book. Do you see the relationships depicted in those books in a new way? How?