A Beginner’s Guide To The End Book Review

Latest Read - A Beginner’s Guide to the End: Practical Advice for Living Life and Facing Death - BJ Miller and Soshana Berger 

                     -Pradeep Gupta 

Death is  something that’s often in the top fears of people. Nobody wants to talk or even think about it. The subject has the power to take our breath away, paralyzing our thoughts. 

Whether you choose to think about it or not, you and those you love will die someday. That is the hard reality of life.  I don’t say that to be morbid, but rather because acknowledging and talking about it actually makes death a little easier. That’s because knowing what to expect helps you not be so blindsided when it finally comes for you. I remember few years back I read Shobha Dé ‘s book ‘Shobha at Sixty’, therein she had devoted  a chapter talking  about getting ready to accept death of self or spouse . But A Beginner’s Guide to End covers all aspects relating to death in detail. 

The book contains the advice you need to prepare for death. Although it may sound intimidating to think about death, but  doing so will help one to  live a better life.

Here are the 3 most helpful takeaways for me about preparing for death:

1. Take time for yourself when you receive the news that you have a terminal illness.

2. Prepare for death by cleaning out your stuff, reconciling any secrets or regrets, and leaving something meaningful for your loved ones.

3. When one of your loved ones dies, don’t pressure yourself right after, let the grief come and go without resistance. 

Vivek Murthy, who had been Surgeon General of USA said that in his personal life and his medical education , he could have used this book as it helps to understand how to approach one of the most important but least understood phases of a person’s life. Though  this book is written keeping mind  the readers in USA but still it is useful  for readers in other countries.