Dying Well

“Knowing how to die well makes it possible to live well.” Mark Helprin, author

It’s Book Club at my house this morning and we are going to discuss Mark Helprin’s book, Paris In the Present Tense, an interesting story of a 74 year old man set in Paris with WWII flashbacks. Helprin, in an interview with Open Letters Monthly, says his novel is about, among other themes, “dying well.”

I believe in the concept of dying well. Although my late husband, Keith, was only 53, he had one of those easy deaths we all hope for…a major heart attack while working out at the gyn that literally killed him before he hit the floor. However, there were no conscious “dying well” decisions in his experience since he had no choices to make. Dying well reminds me of the guy who knew he was dying and started taking donuts to school kids just for the joy of it…his and theirs. Or the grandma whose grandson took her on a tour of the U.S. knowing she was terminal.

Affirmation:  Today I will live life to the fullest.

Coaching question: What is your “dying well” story? How do you see your own death?