Cover Image: Heartwood

Heartwood

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Member Reviews

Becker gives an intimate look into death and grief-- -the process of watching your loved ones decline and pass away. Her vulnerability and openness made a really difficult topic easier to process and read. I think this book can help those going through the same issues or recently have been through it. Her reflections and thoughts help the processing of grief doable.

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Heartwood is a series of short stories all focused on the author’s encounters with death and dying but also her experiences of making greater meaning from these encounters. From attending a Zen Buddhist monastery to becoming a hospice volunteer, the book’s goal is not so much about death as it is about living life when we really acknowledge that death is a part of life that we will all be experience. I read this in the lead up the one year anniversary of my mother-in-law passing away way too soon after her 70th birthday. There is comfort in knowing you aren’t alone in grief and trying to live your life in a way where you honor the person you miss and also live your life knowing that we aren’t guaranteed anything.

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This book is best read slowly to fully savor each word. I love memoirs, and this one grapples with mortality in such a profound way. I feel inspired to live my life more intentionally, and I know I'll be thinking about this book for a long time to come.

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The book was very interesting and thought provoking, It definitely is written through a thorough study of human emotions and was enlightening to learn new perspectives. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

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Wow! This was such a great reminder to love each day like it’s your last. Such powerful words and meanings in between these pages. Just beautiful, sad, and important.

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Inspiring and compelling book --so very much needed in our current difficult times. Recommend for everyone who is struggling--which is everyone--and everyone who wants to think more deeply about their life.

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What a lovely thoughtful and timely book this is. The death of Becker's friend led her to examine everything she'd known and assumed about the end of life. Her volunteer work at a hospice was illuminating for her and for me as well. This isn't suffused with grief but rather about how grief is part of life. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I'm not going a good job of describing this slim volume and I never thought I'd recommend a book about dying but this is about more than dying- it's about living- and I highly recommend it.

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This book was interesting. I especially liked the story behind the title. The central core of a tree is the heartwood. It is no longer alive and it never changes, but it is supported by all of the years/rings that follow it. I thought this was a beautiful analogy. Death is coming to all of us someday, and I love how she has learned from the people who came before her. The theme of this book is that while we need to grieve our losses, we also need to take these experiences and use them to build upon our lives, just like the rings in a tree.

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