/o-607980/n/as-i-lay-dying)
Several years ago, a ruptured tumour almost killed Richard John Neuhaus. During a series of complicated operations, weeks in critical condition, and months in slow recovery, he was brought face to face with his own mortality. As he lay dying and, as it turned out, recovering, he found that despite his faith he had been quite unprepared for the experience. This book traces his efforts to understand his own reactions and those of his friends and family, and explores how we as a culture understand and deal with death.
Neuhaus draws on philosophy, psychology, science, poetry, literature and theology - all reflected through his own personal experience - in speaking to the questions he asked himself on his journey back to life. Can soul and body be separated? If so, what happens to the self? Is dying something we do, or something that just happens to us, or is it both? Is it to be feared, fought, accepted, or explored with intellectual and spiritual curiosity? Can we really live on in others, and how can they receive the gift of our lives once we've passed on? What is good about death? Or can there be anything good about death? These are universal questions, all occasioned by the very particular experience of where Neuhaus has been, where he will be again, and where, sooner or later, we will all be.
Several years ago, a ruptured tumour almost killed Richard John Neuhaus. During a series of complicated operations, weeks in critical condition, and months in slow recovery, he was brought face to face with his own mortality. As he lay dying and, as it turned out, recovering, he found that despite his faith he had been quite unprepared for the experience. This book traces his efforts to understand his own reactions and those of his family and friends, and explores how we as a culture understand and deal with death. "As I Lay Dying" testifies that dying is - and is not - part of living. We can and should live our dying. Neuhaus interweaves his own story with thoughtful inquiry, circling through philosophy, psychology, literature, theology, and his own experiences to create provocative meditations that explore the many aspects of the soul from the body, grief, surrender, and mourning.
Neuhaus draws on philosophy, psychology, science, poetry, literature and theology - all reflected through his own personal experience - in speaking to the questions he asked himself on his journey back to life. Can soul and body be separated? If so, what happens to the self? Is dying something we do, or something that just happens to us, or is it both? Is it to be feared, fought, accepted, or explored with intellectual and spiritual curiosity? Can we really live on in others, and how can they receive the gift of our lives once we've passed on? What is good about death? Or can there be anything good about death? These are universal questions, all occasioned by the very particular experience of where Neuhaus has been, where he will be again, and where, sooner or later, we will all be.
Several years ago, a ruptured tumour almost killed Richard John Neuhaus. During a series of complicated operations, weeks in critical condition, and months in slow recovery, he was brought face to face with his own mortality. As he lay dying and, as it turned out, recovering, he found that despite his faith he had been quite unprepared for the experience. This book traces his efforts to understand his own reactions and those of his family and friends, and explores how we as a culture understand and deal with death. "As I Lay Dying" testifies that dying is - and is not - part of living. We can and should live our dying. Neuhaus interweaves his own story with thoughtful inquiry, circling through philosophy, psychology, literature, theology, and his own experiences to create provocative meditations that explore the many aspects of the soul from the body, grief, surrender, and mourning.
