Life Is a Gift: Inspiration from the Soon Departed

by Bob Fisher, Judy Fisher

In candid interviews, terminal patients in the Alive Hospice program talked with authors Bob and Judy Fisher, addressing some of the most important questions we ask about our life and how we've made the journey. These end-of-life ponderings are collected into inspirational and provoking thoughts that will encourage each of us to live life fully. Each story is reflected in thematic chapters-priorities, family, simple pleasures, romance, integrity, regret, forgiveness-crafted into a series of "lessons learned," offering motivation to approach life with more vigor. These powerful stories deliver the clear message that if you wait to really live until you know you are going to die, you risk missing much of the joy life has to offer and the chance to leave a positive legacy.

240 pages, Hardcover

First published May 20, 2008

Reviews

[MB · Rating 2 out of 5]

My notable excerpts:

Things that once seemed important were now off his radar screen entirely, and little things - little moments of being fully present, tiny opportunities to connect with another human being - now were to W life itself.

What are you most proud of? What has been your greatest joy? What has been your greatest disappointment? What's the most important thing you've ever done? What do you regret? What comes next for you? If you could give one message to the world, what would it be?

I never understood until now how happy one person can make you.

Facing eternity, they turned their attention toward one of the few things on earth stronger than death - namely, love.

the times we struggle the hardest are most often the ones that become precious over time.

So many of the regrets had to do with being passive when they should have been assertive....All because of inertia - because they let life happen to them instead of taking control of those things they were able to control.

even a life that's 84 1/2 years long - comes at us one day at a time, one choice at a time.

It was the love they gave away that was the measure of their lives!

We weren't seeing old, worn-out lives, but new life, as these people got ready to take off mortality like an old coat and put on immortality in its place.

You have such joy on your face. You radiate. You must be in love. I am in love. Let me tell you His name. His name is Jesus, and you need to know Him.

[Jim Gleason · Rating 5 out of 5]

inspirations from the soon departed" is a collection of insights from interviews with 104 patients in hospice care i.e., in their final days.

see this and more than a hundred other organ donation/transplant related books - many with my personal reviews - at http://www.trioweb.org/resources/book...

[Renee Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a cancer survivor, I could relate to much of the content in the interviews done for this book. It was an easy read that brought back many of the feelings that I experienced at the time if diagnosis and for at least a year after my transplant.

[Brian Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can’t remember how I came across this book. Maybe someone recommended it; I’m not sure. I can say this though, I’m glad I’ve read it. I’m definitely enriched having read it. The sheer fascination and hope expressed by those who were “on the doorsteps of eternity” as the authors put it, is well worth the read. The authors are a married couple who interviewed 104 “terminally ill” individuals in hospice care. Unanimously, the interviewees (which included a wise little 5 year old girl) expressed how important family relationships were to them and how grateful they were for the time they’d been blessed with on earth. Truly, to live is Christ, and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21)! Most of the people interviewed for this book knew this powerful truth in a way that many of us have yet to understand. May God quicken us all with this truth well in advance of us finding ourselves “on the doorsteps of eternity”.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you don't know what's important in life, listen to the terminally ill and dying. Suddenly one discards the insignificant and petty things and looks to forgiveness and restoration for themselves and each other. Excellent book for yourself as far as focusing on your life's priorities as well as a wonderful heartfelt tool when you are confronted with someone's terminal illness. Great book for caregivers by choice and the one's facing it without a choice.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bible study book.....didn't resonate with me like I thought it would. It had some good messages, but for the most part I found it rather uninspiring. If you're looking for a Bible study book, there are much better books out there.

[Jo Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book! It's sad and funny and sweet and uplifting.

[Chandar Washington · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading this on I appreciated life that much more.