Life Is a Gift: Inspiration from the Soon Departed

What can the dying teach the living? That is the question that educators Bob and Judy Fisher set out to answer when they interviewed 104 hospice patients ages five to 98. There are no surprises in this slim volume: people talk about family more than work, and about living in the present. The book is organized thematically around topics like priorities, simple pleasures, regrets and forgiveness. This leads to some repetition and overlap, but also helps each chapter stand alone for individual study. The tone is comfortably conversational and liberally peppered with tie-ins to popular songs, although sometimes the authors' commentary gets in the way of their subjects' more powerful words. This is not a soul-shaking book, but it is an effective invitation to self-reflection. It stands out among the growing number of books about death and dying in that it is aimed back at the living: readers can find inspiration in these voices to make better choices in the here and now, find deeper joy in every day and live life with no regrets. (May)