Nothing Left Unsaid: Creating a Healing Legacy with Final Words and Letters

by Mary Polce-Lynch

With the last will and testament, our culture has a way to settle estates and material possessions. But we don't have a ritual for bequeathing messages of love, forgiveness, life lessons, hope, and personal legacy. Now, Nothing Left Unsaid is the first-ever nondenominational guide -- at once practical and inspiring -- that shows how to craft "Final Words," a last communication to leave behind for a spouse, parent, friend, son, daughter, or grandchildren. These final healing words offer our survivors a sense of tangible closure -- whether in the event of a sudden death, terminal illness, or the end of a long and well-lived life. Legacy Letters similarly provide a way to express sentiments to loved ones as they approach the end of their lives. Both legacies ensure that nothing is left unsaid.

244 pages, Paperback

First published February 21, 2006

Reviews

[John Kaufmann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping for something much more practical. I was expecting more practical guidance on how to write, or how to help dying people write, Final Words/Ethical Will/Legacy Letter, based on the author's experience. I was looking for questions to ask, pitfalls to avoid, and how to deal with the long-standing interpersonal conflicts the dying may have had with various family members as they try to come to peace in the last few months/weeks/days. However, the book kept coming back, again and again, to all the benefits that can flow from writing these letters. It hardly ever went into any advice on how to go about it. I could have gained even from more case studies and reading some of the letters people have written under her watch, but there was very little of that either. Quite disappointed.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good guide for helping write legacy or final words letters to loved ones. I didn't get too many new ideas for this project but if someone were having a hard time getting started or lacked inspiration this would be a very useful book