Death Books

Dobson's detailed writing of character is pictoral and cutting edge. I was impressed with Stanford's courage in sickness and his journey down childhood challenge and woes with his family, friends and loves of his life. I was constantly reminded of my own trials and tribulations while reading this book. Exciting ending with a twist. As an novice writer, this piece gives my endeavor; focus and inner strength to a foundational outlook as a future writer. A must read and especially looking forward to more prints from this phenomenal author.

I love this book. I think this book should go straight to Oprahs Book Club. As my father and my friend, I feel that Frank Dobson has a talent like no other writer today. I love his style and I love him. GREAT JOB DAD! From Jasmin Dobson (your child)

I have just completed reading this novel after having to put it down a number of times to ponder my own feelings and life. I found it to be both haunting and thought provoking. This writer is extremely talented, having the ability to totally involve the reader with all of the characters and their individual pysche. I was both inspired and challenged by this experience. It made me think, it made me pray. It is sending me on a quest to find my own voice.

This novel is an extremely well-written piece of fiction. What stands out the most to me is the way the rythyms of the language combine with the centrality of music to create a world as lyrical as anything from the pen of Toni Morrison. It is the music and the fate of Stan that compel you to read on to the explosive conclusion. I would recommend this novel, Dobson's first, to anyone and eagerly anticipate the arrival of Climbing, his next.

Reading this reflected so much of my own similar upbringing and struggles. I was truly amazed of the writers' technigue and the ambiance that is developed between the reader and the author. You feel the story flow with ease from the pages to your inner self making you feel like you know exactly where the characters are and what they are dealing with. It is beautifully done and has a melodic sense as the words and emotions are filtered through and sent out to each reader to analyse and discover. The book has great depth and I look forward to many 'new' work done by this fresh new and very talented African American writer. Hats Off to Frank Dobson and continued success. I will pass the book on to everyone I know,and I await his next 'new' release.

I bought this book for my brother who's 20 year old son was killed in a car accident 7/6/2007. My brother continues to thank me for the book and said that it has been amazingly helpful. He said that he can not believe how the author's experiences so closely mirror his own.

Death is a terrorist. Never is it more of a terrorist than when we see it strike our children. We are gripped by anger, frustration and pain in a way that none of us is prepared to handle.

Bob and Martha Thompson invite us into the world of their terror beginning with the first minutes after they received the word of the car accident that killed their son, Paul. From that call through the funeral and the loneliness that followed they guide us through their painful experiences and feelings.

Bob not only describes the desolation of his son's loss, but he also illuminates the way of healing that God gave to their family. As a physician he understands the way the body works to heal its injuries. His medical insight gives him creative metaphors for the healing that is needed in our heart following the death of a child.

One of the most important parts of this book is the witness that it gives to all of us who are marked by death. Bob and Martha write down their "remembering" to reveal how our wounds do not lead to hiding but open doors to healing as we learn ways to share them with others.

This book will help families who have grieved the death of a child do their own remembering. It will also be treasured by those of us who walk alongside these friends to understand how remembering brings healing over time through the presence of the one who re-members us, our crucified and risen Lord, Jesus Christ.

How does one go on with life after experiencing the death of a child or loved one? There is no single answer to this question, but in his book, Remembering: The Death of a Child, Dr. Robert Thompson carefully tells of the journey of grief (and eventually peace) travelled by he and his wife, Martha. From the first moments after the accident that took their son's life, to the depths of despair during the first year thereafter, to the subsequent ten years of learning to live again, the author takes us with him as he relives the most difficult and important experience of his life. Dr. Thompson offers no packaged solutions to grieving parents because he acknowledges that none exists. What he does offer, however, is hope through his own ability to find ways to continue to live without trying to "forget" Paul's life or death for a single day. He tells his story of learning to live by remembering and embracing Paul's life as a natural part of each day. He and Martha share their story in hopes of helping others as they were helped by many around them and throughout the country. Dr. Thompson's thoughtful and educated perspective is sure to lend one of many required helping hands to anyone living through his or her own loss.

The death of a child, which seems the most unnatural of deaths, is often the most anguishing to face. This author found his own meaning in suffering and turned it into something of value. A truly remarkable creative survivor! Remembering The Death of a Child is a book that helps to find peace and comfort without forgetting. I recommend it anyone who has lost a loved one.

Book Review
Remembering the Death of a Child
By Robert R. Thompson, M.D.

This excellent book of "Support and Healing, Hope and Inspiration" is the story of a couple's grief journey after the tragic loss of their son, Paul Leslie Thompson. Even though Dr. Thompson is a physician and all too familiar with death, nothing could have prepared him and his wife for the acute grieving process that lay ahead of them. Dr. Thompson describes his experience with these words:
"The death of a child takes you on a journey like a hawk carries a rabbit through the sky. It eventually drops you either dead or wounded. What you see and do on the journey is up to you. The journey itself is not."
Dr. Thompson invites the reader to join him and his wife on their journey through grief. He explains their need to see, feel and hold their son after the accident. He tells of the funeral plans and how they made it through the ceremony in a zombie-like state. He admits that although he and his wife are practicing Christians, they sometimes felt too numb to pray and were not sure what to say to God. They tried to make sense of it all, but couldn't. "I thought then and still believe, that the pain of losing a child derives in part from the anger we feel that the natural cycle of life has been interrupted."
Dr. Thompson then gently lets us know what was helpful to the couple as they faced their grief. "We took consolation where we could find it," he remembers. Both were grateful to have each other and to be able to share the journey with their other two sons, parents and other family members. The recollection of last words spoken and the memories shared were appreciated and represented little drops of soothing oil on the wounded hearts. The loving and caring friends who took over in the house and who just sat and listened were of great consolation. Touch was also very important in the healing process. "Handshakes were not enough. Embraces were required and each hug squeezed out a new burst of anguish." Almost every decision was validated with the words, "Paul would have liked that." A notepad was put near the casket, so that anyone who wanted to could write a memory of Paul on it. Someone introduced the Thompsons to The Compassionate Friends who believe that "grief shared by many is grief borne by many" and who suggested that they use a memory box to collect memorabilia. The church family acted as a supportive community and relieved them of some of the burdens of daily life. The funeral director and the pastor helped by providing a "healing funeral." Patients, staff and colleagues "carried" them and allowed them to grieve as long as they needed to.
We would expect Dr. Thompson to also describe some of the physical and mental effects of grief. He describes that both, husband and wife, started suffering from throbbing headaches soon after the news of their son's death. Other symptoms were fatigue, numbness, sleeplessness, weight loss, gray hair and his wife's onset of menopause.
Depression was a concern, but Dr. Thompson knew that medicating grieving patients is not appropriate unless there are signs of serious melancholia and "involutional" depression. It took a voluntary decision to not "extend the acute grieving process and make a career out of it." Although sometimes marriages suffer from the grief experience, Dr. Thompson found that "a mutually supportive respect for each other's personal grief can result in a stronger marriage - one in which both partners rely on each other for mutual support and encouragement, as well as continued personal growth."
This grief experience has effected a changed in Dr. Thompson's attitude toward death. His patients and his own mortality have taken on new meaning. Both Dr. Thompson and his wife don't want to "move on" or "get on with their lives," but want to integrated moments of remembrance and appreciation for life and the living into their daily lives.

Yes, this book is now 10 years old. And it's been 10 years since Princess Diana died, but this book is a very vivid reminder of that horrible week following her death. That week where I, and I'm guessing millions more, stayed glued to the TV not quite believing what had happened. This book brings the chaos of that tragic time back, but gives us the most beautiful remembrences of the late princess from people she touched. People she visited at hospitals where she shined her brightest helping people.

I was hoping there would be pictures in this as well, but the picture on the cover is the way I'd like to remember her. Beautiful, happy, radiant. And really I wouldn't want to see pictures from that week anyway. It was too sad to remember it just reading about it. This book captured that one week in a tiny time capsule in a way I've never seen any book on history do. Because now that is what she is believe it or not-history.

During the 10 year memorial stuff my 5 year old niece asked who the pretty blonde woman on the TV all the time was. We told her she was a princess who was very kind to sick people and cared for others, but had died before she was born. She looked up at me and asked, "A REAL princess?" When she's older I'll gladly give her this book to show her how the entire world stopped to grieve over the most amazing woman in the world. And tell her how one ordinary person CAN change the world. Princess Diana was proof of that.

So YES! This is a book for anyone's collection!

I think Princess Diana was one of the most loved royal family members of England and the world and this book proves that! I felt like she connected with everyone she met. I never met her but I was in a car traveling through the streets of London once and her royal auto passed by, it seemed to glow with her warmth. Review written by the author of Bruised But Still Strong which contains a poem about Princess Di called HRH.

THE GOSSIP AND SNIPING THAT SURROUNDED HER IN LIFE IS CUT TO THE QUICK BY THE HONESTY THAT CAME THROUGH HER DEATH. THIS BOOK PROVIDES A REALISTIC LOOK AT DIANA. A MUST HAVE FOR DIANA COLLECTORS AND DEVOTEES.

at least in a very long time. I picked up the book as soon as received and had a difficult time putting it down. Its been a long time (over 2 years) since Diana's passing but this book made it feel like it was last month. All the feelings and emotions came flooding back & made me remember what a great loss this was to the world. Obviously the writers of the essays etc had very strong emotions towards Princess Diana. The feeling of love for this lady comes pouring out of each story.

While dozens of pictorial testimonials to Princess Diana have already appeared Requiem offers more than eighty written tributes and recollections. Dont buy this book for pictures it leaves that to others. But this 43 year old does not mind saying the tributes and recollections moved him to tears. If you are a Diana fan this book is a must have.

I met Dawn Smith Jordan when she came to my church. She talks so lovingly about her sister and family. Her mother, the author of this book, has passed away. You would think the family would be devestated after all these horrible things have happened. Dawn radiates with the love of Jesus and shares that with everyone. Her family I think was very special and her sister in Heaven is now reunited with her moma. God Bless this family!

I heard about this tradgy on court tv's Forensic Files it broke my heart about the letter and how he murdered her it was a bad storie to hear.only 17 not ever getting to have a kid or ever graduate that was not very kind to murder someone for no reason.

The first time I remember reading about this horrific crime was in a Reader's Digest magazine in 1989. I can still remember the shock I felt when I read how something as innocent as checking the mail in your own driveway could turn into such a tragedy. My heart broke as I turned each page and read Hilda's story about the brutal kidnapping and murder of her beautiful daughter. Her courage and faith is an inspirational to anyone that reads this book. I highly recommend it.

My brother went to school with Shari at Lexington High School. I remember when this terrible tragedy happened. It broke the heart of an entire town. BUT, one thing that helped us all heal was witnessing the faith and courage of the Smith family. This book is a bright example of how, even in the toughest of times, a family followed God's light and overcame their darkest moment. The town of Lexington has never forgotten Shari or the Smith family.

I heard about this tradgy on court tv's Forensic Files it broke my heart about the letter and how he murdered her it was a bad storie to hear.only 17 not ever getting to have a kid or ever graduate that was not very kind to murder someone for no reason.

the forward starts off "(she) could have left russia--remember that as you read these journals." what comes across initially as anna's relentless account of putin's rise to autocratic dominance is more of an alarming and disheartening account of russia's systematic devolution where democracy, freedom of press and the semblance of a worthy society were fleetingly promised as they were taken away. incredible heart-wrenching accounts of the moscow theater and beslan school massacres as well as the two chechen wars.

A must read for anyone who wants to understand the "new" Russia. One hopes others will have the courage to take up Ms. Politkovskaya's crusade in exposing the corruption so rampant in Putin's (and now Medvedev's)Russia.

This is a riveting account of a life constantly in peril. The translation is equally outstanding, conveying both the "conversationalism" of a "diary" and the formality of the more essential elements.

Anna Politkovskaya's "Russian Diary" is a gold mine of information and provides unparalleled insights into Putin's Neo-Soviet Russia.

Many believe that Politkovskaya was murdered for her indepth investigative reporting into all aspects of Putin's regime. In this book she makes it clear that Russia is rapidly sliding into a dark and deep abyss.

Politkovskaya reveals the rampant corruption prevalent in the Russian government and its total disregard for the Russian population, human rights, and basic democratic principles.

"Russian Diary" is a first-hand account of the growing power of Russia's criminal community and its alliance with Vladimir Putin, the rampant greed and lawlessness of the new Russian business elite, the unbridled brutality of the Russian security services, and the gross incompetence of the Russian military.

Politkovskaya believed that Russia was headed for another major war in the Caucasus against the mountain peoples it has been terrorizing and murdering for the last decade.

This is a sad and depressing story that is all too familiar to those with firsthand knowledge of the Soviet Union and Russia.

For those who care about Russia, it is hard to put this book down. It is a compelling read. However, one cannot help read "A Russian Diary" without an overwhelming sense of sadness. We know how the story ends. The last entry in the diary was made in August 2006, and soon thereafter Anna Politkovskaya life ends, murdered by unknown assailants in Moscow.

The profound nature of this loss comes across on every page of this book, as Ms. Politkovskaya carefully and without flinching describes contemporary Russian society, warts and all, as perhaps no other journalist left living can. This book brings the reader a first-hand look into the tragedies of Dubrovka Theater and the school siege at Beslan. And also chronicles the seemingly endless war in Chechnya. She asks hard questions of the Russian government and its apparent failure to manage these matters.

As great of a loss as the death of Anna Politkovskaya is, her dairy is a reminder of perhaps the greatest tragedy and missed opportunity in the last quarter of a century. With the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia had the opportunity once and forever to move into the family of democratic states. This book documents that although there are elections, this has not really happened, not even close. What we have now is a tightly controlled state governed by an intelligence oligarchy with a fondness for the Soviet past, which has restricted rather than expanded civil liberties and workers' rights. These restrictions have been justified in the name of protecting national security and the promotion of state controlled capitalism. "A Russian Diary" documents how the Russian people are languishing with a government seemingly disinclined to tackle the serious social welfare problems that are besetting the country.

This book is commentary on the Russian government, but it also asks tough questions of Americans and Western Europeans. What could they have done differently to nudge Russia toward a democratic direction? Is it too late? Are we destined to regress into a more perverse version of the Cold War, with a Russian government mistrusting the West once again, but now empowered by oil and gas revenues?

I hope that is not the case both for Russia and the West. However, without Anna Politkoyskaya alive to point out the deficiencies in the Russian government and the shortcomings of the West, the unthinkable becomes possible.

I purchased this book because my Mother (whom my girls call Nana) has Ovarian Cancer, and I wanted a book to help me explain what is happening, or might happen, to her. My girls are 2 and 3. I also purchased Tickles Tabitha's Cancer-Tankerous Mommy, but my 3-year-old said she liked this book better. I loved the pictures and the words were simple, I believe this deepend my daughters' understanding of what is going on. I also liked how the love within the family was displayed. I also love the fact that a Glossary and activities to do with your child were included. Thanks to the author and illustrator for making a book that helps to explain a somewhat difficult subject.

When I was diagnosed with malignant cancerous tumors, my outlook wasn't great. My biggest fear was that God was going to take me away from my beautiful boy, a gift he had only given me just about five years earlier. I needed a way to tell my son, without scaring, without hurting, with a gentle hand of love that he's always known. I read this story to him twice in a row.

He sat very quiet and asked me if I was going to leave him and live in heaven, I told him no, that mommy would fight and fight to be here with him and well, twelve years later, I am. Partly because of the courage I gained and the attitude I gained after reading this book to the most important gift I ever received. My son...and to this day, he remembers me sick and my hair falling out and he says he's proud that I am a survivor. HE'S PROUD OF ME...imagine that. I'm just as proud of him if not more.

If you're looking for a gentle book, an informative book, a book they'll understand about a disease that even sometimes we don't, this is the book. I believe in it so much that I donated two copies to my son's school library in his name for children and parents alike going through the same situation. I didn't know where to turn. Maybe that helped them know and maybe my review will help you too. Thank you from "survivor" in a lavendar bow...

When I was diagnosed with breast cancer last June, my biggest concerns revolved around telling my two year old about what was happening. Sammy's Mommy Has Cancer turned out to be the perfect tool for helping a toddler to understand, and for offering a great place to start. When we first told our daughter that I had cancer, we said, "We have a book about a little boy whose mommy has cancer. Would you like to read it?" and she said "Yes." Our daughter barely moved as we read it through to her, and then she said, "Read it again," to us several times as she used it to process information. The book has a positive tone and offers lots of optimism, even as it explores difficult topics such as surgery, fatigue, chemotherapy, and hair loss. Over the course of a few months, our daughter has pulled the book out again and again as we've faced different aspects of cancer together; for example, before I went to chemotherapy she spent a long time looking at the page with pictures of Sammy's mommy in the chemo chair, asking questions about the medicine in the bag. In short, this book has been incredibly helpful to us, and it's been instrumental in helping our young daughter to understand what is happening with her mom. (Like Sammy's mommy, I intend on a full recovery!) I think this book is an absolute necessity for any parent who has been diagnosed with cancer and needs to explain it to a very young child.

I was concerned that my 3 year old would not understand what was happening to his grandma who is now undergoing treatment for cancer a 2nd time. The book mirrors our lifestyle and my son could relate to the parents and Sammy. While I do not have cancer, he connected when I told him that grandma has cancer. He recognizes that she goes to the doctor to get better. He recognizes that sometimes she's not feeling well enough to play.

While we are extremely optomistic, as anyone should be, treatment does not always yield positive outcomes. This books has a happy ending appropriate for younger kids. It also allows him to reiterate to grandma that she will get better!!!

This was my favorite of the first 3 books I got for my 6 year old daughter when her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. (It is appropriate for young toddlers all the way through very early elementary school aged kids.) It VERY BASICALLY shows what happens when a little boy and his parents find out his mom has cancer. Easy to read and easy to understand. Wonderful for a child who doesn't know what cancer is, nor what to expect. My daughter really identifiies with Sammy. I would recommend this to anyone who has cancer and a young child.

I cannot read this book to my daughter without weeping. We are in the habit of reading a book over and over for a month or more, and we will not be able to do so with Samsara Dog because I have such difficulty getting through it in a manner that she can understand since I always start choking up about halfway in.


In other words: I love it, sincerely, and it makes me think I may be Buddhist but not know it yet. My daughter at least thinks it's charming that I cry so much when reading books about reincarnation, dogs, and/or death. Please read this book.

I purchased this book for my 10 year old grandson for Christmas. We had some great discussions about death and dying as a result of reading the book together. A week later his new brother was stillborn. You just never know when you have to start talking about death and dying with children and it gave us a great language to talk about what happened and begin the process of acceptance.
The illustrations are wonderful and the story is uplifting. It is one that children will understand more and more as time goes on because the story is easily understood at face value and then as the child grows perspective, the depth of the story becomes more apparent.

This moving story may bring tears to your eyes, but not because of sadness alone. There is beauty and a sense of peace in the cycle of birth and death described here. The writing is simple and effective; the illustrations are unusually memorable.

This book is a must for your book shelf, whether you are a dog-lover or not, whether you have children or not, whether you are young or old. In our relentless pursuit of material pleasures and of more, more, more, we are becoming increasingly alienated from the power and beauty of the natural world. This book illustrates the Buddhist concepts of samsara, the cycle of birth, and nirvana, fulfillment through total selflessness. Let your tired and flagging spirits be warmed by the evocative and heart-warming story, complemented by beautiful illustrations in soft hues.

I just had the pleasure of reading this book. It is a great book for both children and grown ups. Beautiful moving story and wonderfully illustrated.
thank you

Just this week in Joyce, Washington, a 12-year old boy--popular and happy by all accounts--took a rifle into his classroom and shot himself in the chest in front of his teacher and 18 classmates. Last month, a 12-year old in Seattle tossed herself off a freeway overpass. Judy Collins is a singer, songwriter, author, and actress, with many years of recovery from alcoholism. Depression, the "dog on the leash" often attached to alcoholism and addiction, plagued her since childhood. Her first husband's father killed himself. Nobody talked about it. Years later, at 33, Ms. Collin's son, after a period of sobriety, relapsed and then killed himself, narrating his own death on audiotape. Suicide is like child abuse, cancer, domestic violence, addiction: the attitude of many is "it's time to move on. Get over it." What Ms. Collins knows and tells eloquently in this book, which also features an excellent reference list of other books on suicide,is that those left behind never get over it. She postulates, instead, that suicide must be talked about. The writing in the book is a combination of songs, poems, journal entries, interviews with other writers on suicide, and anecdotes about Ms. Collin's own life. The writing is sometimes uneven, with breathtaking imagery juxtaposed with cliche or platitude, though I of course enjoy platitudes that come from 12-Step programs because I know what life-savers they are--and this is how Ms. Collins uses them. I "grew up" to the sound of Judy Collins'songs; when she appeared nearby in a concert nearly a decade ago, she never mentioned that her tour was part of her own therapy for her terrible sense of loss and hopelessness from her son's suicide. This singing and her writing lend hope.

Sanity and Grace: A Journey of Suicide, Survival, and Strength
by Judy Collins
Reviewed by Suzanne M. Retzinger, Ph.D.

"The streets of London have their map; but our passions are uncharted." (Virginia Woolf).

I was given a copy of Sanity and Grace by a remarkable man - Al Lowman - and was not sure at the time what I was meant to see. I read it to find out. I found a rare combination of expression of feeling and intelligent use of the work that has been done on suicide - woven together into a story. What I saw in Judy Collins's book was a roadmap of the passions. I read the story of a journey from the stigma and shame of a family secret - her son's death by suicide - into the open where healing begins to take place.

Breaking down the ancient walls of a taboo, Judy chose to build bridges, rather than remain behind the wall. She questions why a person would be defined by a moment in time when someone takes his or her life - why this moment would weigh more than all others. A mix of journal entries and prose shows the road from pain to light - and there is light.

Like many who suffer from the death of a loved one, Judy was told to stop talking about it, "get on with your life", "you're bringing others down". I hear this again and again from people who come to the bereavement groups I facilitate. Silence prevents healing - suicide is whispered she says, and "never quite shouted, as it should be, to the rooftops." She refused to stay silent, or to accept shame that would have been isolating. Instead she chose to express her pain. Talking is healing, and grief is the acceptance of that loss.

Judy gives a clear message: there is only one way to heal - right through the pain. She found sobriety, and refused medication for her grief - grief is not a disease, "I wanted to feel everything, the pain and the depression, the hurt, even the rage." And she allowed herself to feel, "let it role over me and around me, let it boil up and claim me, let it wrench the tears out of my eyes and let it roll into rage." Her complex emotions find voice and grace through words.

Going through mourning can feel insane, and no one needs to do it alone. There's "power in the intimacy that comes with sharing secrets", and is in itself healing. A network of caring people and support groups helped her move through. There are support groups - there are caring people to travel with us. Hospice is a starting place to find such a group. By speaking her suffering, and courage to be vulnerable, Judy Collins charts a path for others to follow. A god has given us a voice to speak our pain - let us use it.

I sing my highest praise.

A moving account of how many lives are touched by a single moments mistake.

I purchased this book while in Boulder CO because Judy Collins, one of my favorite artists, was doing a talk and signing at the bookstore that night. Her book is an amazing memoir of life before and after her son completed suicide. She manages to put his life into context by sharing her background. I was mesmerized as I read, and I continue to be impressed by her strength and ability to put her life on display and speak out on so many issues that we as a society would prefer to ignore. The beauty of Judy Collins' singing voice is echoed in her written words. Reading her book is like having a private concert in your home.

I didn't experience suicide of a loved one, but did experience the murder of my mother by a psychotic patient who came for treatment where she worked as a social worker, over 40 years ago when I was 9. There are many differences, but also commonalities in suicide, murder, and all sudden, violent death where there is no opportunity to say goodbye. And the major truth is this: you never "get over it." You can go on, and even laugh again and love again and experience great joy again, but part of your heart is permanently ripped out, and you feel it forever, and you never "get over it." The challenge, for survivors, is to try to create a loving, full life in spite of it. This is a key message of Ms. Collins' book.

This is the best overview of Esoterics you are going to find. The author has managed to take a very complex subject and make it understandable to any serious seeker of the truth of how life operates. His use of diagrams and tables to illustrate the points is hugely helpful. He covers all the major topics related to esoterics and does so in concise, understandable language. If you're new to Esoterics, I would start with this book and then move onto the works of Henry Laurency (www.laurency.com). My only problem with the Science of Sprituality is that the author changed the Hylozoic numbering system, thus reversing all the numbers, which makes it terribly confusing to those of us who have already learned Laurency's system. But this is a minor issue compared to the vast array of valuable information that is contained in this great book.

I simply devoured Lee's book, and then started on it a second time.

I've been on a spiritual path for many years, and have often tried to piece together the material offered in much of the esoteric literature. It can be quite difficult to decipher the esoteric works, as many of the terms used require definition before you can begin to understand the meaning of the words.

Lee's book helped me put many of the confusing bits of information that I'd gathered over the years together in a logical understandable format.

I highly recommend it.

I have read so many metaphysical books over the years and was beginning to think that there was nothing left to stimulate my craving for esoteric knowledge. The Science of Spirituality complements and enhances several other books I have read and it has been surprisingly easy to integrate the new information into my existing knowledge. The book has given me a whole new perspective on spiritual science which has enabled me to move out of a long stagnant period and into a period of real spiritual growth.

I couldn't put the book down and read it from start to finish in two days! Everything is explained so simply, clearly and concisely that even complex subjects were not too difficult to understand. The 50 or so diagrams (some of which are truly inspired) were very helpful and took my understanding to another level. They say "a picture paints a thousand words" and that is certainly true with this book. I thought I knew a lot about spiritual matters before I read this book, but it showed me just how little I really knew. The author's level of understanding goes far beyond anything else I have ever read, yet he presents everything so simply. Some of the points raised in the book seemed so obvious after reading them but I thought to myself "How come I didn't see it that clearly before?" It showed me how much my preconceived ideas were distorting my beliefs. Even the apparent differences between the major religions no longer seemed like differences after I saw the common thread. The book gave me so much to think about, and for that alone I am grateful. It is packed full of so much interesting and important information that it must be one of the most important books ever written.

I have been interested in theosophy for many years but I was beginning to think it was stuck in the past, because most of the information is a hundred years old and there is precious little new material. The Science of Spirituality resolves this by providing a fresh and up-to-date presentation of theosophical concepts, and expands upon them to deepen and clarify one's understanding. I was blown away by the information in chapters 7 and 8 on the development of consciousness and the science of enlightenment. The book is a "must read" for anyone who is on the spiritual path!

I wish I would have had this book the day I went into depression over our son. The author had similar feelings and talked about them along with brief excerpts from different sources along with a short prayer that pertained to the situation being discussed. I have shared this book with others grieving over death or serious situations with their children and I have heard nothing but grateful comments including they cannot put the book down and has helped them through the process.

EXCELLENT BOOK. A MUST FOR THE PASSING OF A LOVE ONE

In this book, Ann Dawson articulates the passing of her teenage son in such a way that you will feel her pain. God bless her for taking such a painful experience and using it to help others going through the pain of loss. The quotations that she uses from other writers on the subject will inspire you.

This book is not only for those who are currently grieving but also for those who want to learn and understand what the grieving process is about and how you can help others who are experiencing this painful process.

One warning: Once you start reading this book, it is very difficult to set it down.

If you have loved and lost this book is a must have. I lost my Husband five years ago to CANCER and I have read grief books since. This is the best of them all.

I have not only read this book, but I have given to people who have lost a loved one unexpectedly. Each person has commented on what a blessing this book was to them. It's very easy reading and the short chapters are helpful when concentration is hard to come by in their time of loss.