Description
Book by Cynthia Greb. Book. 6×9. 166 pages with 28 photos.
This book of essays describes both the emotional toll and the spiritual inspiration that can accompany our journeys with loved ones as they approach that transition between life and death and journey on to the Afterlife. Cynthia Greb served as hospice chaplain for two different hospices, was a professional caregiver, and cared for both parents as their health began to deteriorate. She was blessed to be with both her mother and father as they died. Needless to say, she experienced firsthand the exhaustion of 24-hour-a-day caregiving, the grief of too many deaths, and the moments of joy and inspiration brought by the natural world, caring staff at a nursing home, and profound dreams. This book is sure to touch anyone who has ever cared for or lost a loved one.
Thoughts from some readers:
After finishing this book, I sat on my sofa somewhat stunned, eyes burning from tears. This is so very beautiful, poignant, and a true gift. I would recommend this not only to caregivers but to medical professionals as well. ~Betsy Zazow, RN, LCSW
I loved the honesty of this book. As a fellow hospice chaplain, I appreciated Cynthia’s willingness to show the underbelly of not knowing. Regardless of our professional roles or training, losing those most dear to us is an experience that offers no free pass. We humans are all on an equal playing field when it comes to death and dying. The experience can be confusing, painful, meaningful, profound and sometimes amazingly beautiful. Cynthia has a way of bringing us into her heart as she navigates the impossible…making it okay for those we love to leave us. I highly recommend this book for caregivers, family members and professionals alike. Well done! ~ Rev.Helen Burke, pastoral counselor, author of Just Tell Them I Love Them: a hospice chaplain’s invitations to live well
Through personal memories and reflections, Cynthia Greb beautifully and compassionately peels back the layers of grief. Along with uncovering the many faces and phases of grief, she also shares the beautiful lessons, blessings, and grace hidden within the journey from heartache to healing. When you or someone you love is on a journey with grief, this is the book you want as your trusted companion. ~Patti Kerr, Certified Alzheimer’s Educator, speaker, and author of I Love You, Who Are You?: Loving and Caring for a Parent with Alzheimer’s
Ordained minister and former hospice chaplain, Cynthia Greb has written a magnificent tribute to the process of dying (I call it “life in the midst of death in the midst of life”) as she describes the transition of her parents, niece, uncles and those for whom she has provided care over the years. Grief and Grace is a doorway into the world of love and loss that gently beckons. Not just the harsh reality of death, but the heartfelt and sweet moments along the way. Greb companions the reader as surely as she did her loved ones. (She is) truly a midwife at the end of life.” ~Rev. Edie Weinstein, MSW, author of The Bliss Mistress Guide to Transforming the Ordinary Into the Extraordinary
In this loving and sensitive series of stories, Cynthia Greb touches upon experiences and feelings that we all must journey through at some point in our finite lives. She teaches us the value of love in all its many forms and shows us that even on the darkest days we can be wrapped in grace if we keep our minds and hearts open. ~Robin Reichert, author of Earth Divine: Adventures of an Everyday Mystic and Diary of a Man Named Jesus
