Near the Exit

Travels with the Not-So-Grim Reaper

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Pub Date 13 Aug 2019 | Archive Date 18 Dec 2020

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Description

"This book’s journey to spiritual places near and far is worth taking." —Library Journal, starred review

"An ideal guidebook to facing the inevitable." —Foreword Reviews 

After her brother died unexpectedly and her mother moved into a dementia-care facility, spiritual travel writer and Episcopal deacon Lori Erickson felt called to a new quest: to face death head on, with the eye of a tourist and the heart of a pastor. Blending memoir, spirituality, and travel, Near the Exit examines how cultures confront and have confronted death, from Egypt's Valley of the Kings and Mayan temples, to a Colorado cremation pyre and Day of the Dead celebrations, to Maori settlements and tourist-destination graveyards. Erickson reflects on mortality--the ways we avoid it, the ways we cope with it, and the ways life is made more precious by accepting it--in places as far away as New Zealand and as close as the nursing home up the street. Throughout her personal journey and her travels, Erickson helps us to see that one of the most life-affirming things we can do is to invite death along for the ride.

"This book’s journey to spiritual places near and far is worth taking." —Library Journal, starred review

"An ideal guidebook to facing the inevitable." —Foreword Reviews 

After her brother died...


Advance Praise

"This book’s journey to spiritual places near and far is worth taking." —Library Journal, starred review

"An ideal guidebook to facing the inevitable."
Foreword Reviews

“Open-hearted and soulful, never morbid, and often uplifting, Near the Exit is a colorful travelogue of mortality. I’ve read many books on illness and dying; few have made me smile as often and see the uniquely human richness of the final chapters of life.”
—Ira Byock, author of Dying Well and The Best Care Possible and Active Emeritus Professor of Medicine, the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth

Near the Exit is a delicious, funny, and quite moving read. Part actual travelogue, it’s also a spiritual exploration of death. The writing is stellar; the reflections on the unexpected nature of grief and the way Lori Erickson plumbs ‘seeming coincidence’ grabbed my attention and didn’t let it go. Highly recommend for people of any or no faith practice.”
—Jennifer Grant, author of Love You More and Maybe I Can Love My Neighbor Too

“Erickson is our expert tour guide as she takes us on a colorful journey of the world’s sacred death rituals and destinations. Her vivid prose is our companion and invitation to the spiritual packing we needn’t delay until the night before departure.”
—J. Dana Trent, author of Dessert First: Preparing for Death While Savoring Life

Near the Exit is not a typical book on death and dying from a Christian perspective. It is an intriguing exploration of late life and death that will sometimes cause you to squirm or to laugh out loud. Always though, it will prompt you to think deeply about what it is to be mortal. Author Lori Erickson fearlessly weaves ancient perspectives and cultural expressions about death gleaned from her own travel experiences into the intimate stories of her mother’s life in a nursing home in Iowa. Near the Exit will appeal to anyone who struggles to understand the mystery of death and dying.”
—Missy Buchanan, advocate, writer, and speaker for older adults

“What happens when a gifted travel writer combines her interests in travel, religion, and death? The result is a fascinating book called Near the Exit, with trips to Rome, a Day of the Dead celebration, pyramids in Egypt and Mexico, nursing homes, a Maori ceremony in New Zealand, a farm in Iowa, and more. Beautiful writing about a trip we all will someday take.”
—Brian D. McLaren, author and activist

“When I first picked up Near the Exit, I found that, much to my relief, I had not commenced to read another grief book. Instead it’s a travelogue that explores a wide range of sacred sites—from the exotic (and musty) pyramids of Egypt’s Valley of the Kings to the Iowa nursing home where Lori’s elderly mother navigates the labyrinth of dementia—all characterized by a light-hearted and curious inquiry about what death means in various cultural and spiritual contexts. As one who has been hanging out with the Grim Reaper more than I care to lately, I took this book in like a breath of fresh air. I hope Near the Exit will help others navigate mortality as Lori Erickson meets us wherever we are and gently invites us on a guided global tour.”
—Kate Sheehan Roach, Director of Content, ContemplativeLife.org

“Is it possible to become comfortable with the thought of one’s own death? Lori Erickson sets out on a fantastic voyage to explore the answer, and, best of all, we get to go with her. From the depths of Egypt’s Great Pyramids to the wide-open spiritual expanse that is Crestone, Colorado, Near the Exit shows us that it is possible not only to chart the landscape of mortality but also to make it gloriously our own. A hopeful and inspiring book.”
—Sophfronia Scott, author of This Child of Faith: Raising a Spiritual Child in a Secular World

"This book’s journey to spiritual places near and far is worth taking." —Library Journal, starred review

"An ideal guidebook to facing the inevitable."
Foreword Reviews

“Open-hearted and soulful...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9780664265670
PRICE $20.00 (USD)
PAGES 180

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Featured Reviews

As a death activist and death historian, I knew I’d love this book. Admittedly, I was the tiniest bit wary because it sounds very similar to Caitlin Doughty’s From Here to Eternity, and while I was lookin get forward to reading someone else’s perspective, I wasn’t sure I’d learn anything new about some of the places where both Lori Erickson and Caitlin went. However, I couldn’t be more pleased. There are a few overlaps of places mentioned or visited, but Near the Exit isn’t a copy or anything close to From Here to Eternity. Written from the point of view of an Episcopalian deacon, the reader is introduced to a truly unique point of view of death and other cultures’ perceptions of death. Even better, Lori Erickson is a hell of a writer. She’s definitely found her calling, and it shows in the quality of her work.

Highly recommend. Can’t recommend enough. And I look so forward to hunting down more of Lori Erickson’s work!

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Lori Erickson is a pastor, as well as a travel writer focused on the spiritual. Death threw her for a loop when her brother died suddenly and her mom had to be placed in dementia-care full time.  In an attempt to understand death in different cultures and clear her heart, Erickson put together a part travel guide and part spiritual memoir to explore how the rest of the world deals with Death. From Mayan Temples, to Dia de Muertos, to Maori settlements, and graveyards, each culture copes with death and mortality a different way.

Erickson has a cheerful voice that is both entertaining and careful not to be too preachy. While she is an Episcopal deacon, Near the Exit does not feel like you're having religion thrown in your face and is easily digestible for whatever you believe. Her focus is on love, acceptance, and how the world understands death. 

Near the Exit is available from Westminster Knox Press now.

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In her riveting travelogue, Near the Exit, Episcopal deacon Lori Erickson proves that you don’t have to travel far from home in order to go on a spiritual journey.

While dealing with her own deep and personal grief surrounding the death of her brother and her mother’s progressive dementia, Erickson decides to confront the specter of loss head on. She goes on a journey that is both literal and metaphorical. As she seeks to process her grief, she travels in order to learn about the ways different cultures process death. I was particularly fascinated by her travels in Egypt, New Zealand, and Mexico; however, the most poignant chapters for me were the ones in which she explored the world of hospice care and her mother’s nursing home. Like Erickson, I also work in the church, and I found her spiritual meditations on the end of life to be deeply thought provoking.

I read this entire book in one day. I simply couldn’t put it down. At times, Erickson’s heartfelt prose brought me close to tears. I’m at the age where I need to admit to myself that I will probably never stand in the shadow of the pyramids or climb the steps of an Aztec temple, but Erickson’s writing helped me to feel as if I was really there. More importantly than that, she reminded me that we do not need to travel farther than this moment in order to encounter the wonder of God’s miraculous presence. Her writing is a testament to the beauty of mindfulness and the preciousness of the present.

I plan on referring to some of Erickson’s anecdotes in my upcoming sermon for All Saints Sunday. If you’re a fan of Smoke Gets in Your Eyes or the HBO series Six Feet Under, you’re certain to enjoy this book- especially if you are of the spiritual persuasion.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and options are my own.

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