Holding Space: On Loving, Dying, and Letting Go

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

From the publisher: A look at the spiritual, emotional, and philosophical implications of end-of-life care by an elegant and literary writer who is a hospital chaplain. As a hospital chaplain, Amy Wright Glenn has been present with those suffering from suicide, trauma, disease, and unforeseen accidents and has been witness to the intense grief and powerful insights that so often accompany loss. She weaves together memoir, philosophical inquiry, and cutting-edge research on death/dying to chronicle how we, as individuals and as a culture, handle everything from grief to mortality. Wright Glenn is also a professional birth doula with a deep and committed mindfulness practice who has thought deeply about the significance of human love and loss. She asks us to embrace the task of being present with what is -- through courageous and mindful expressions of compassionate presence -- and helps us to accept the fact of our own mortality on a visceral and emotional level, not simply as an intellectual abstraction. Holding Space concludes by integrating key insights drawn from working directly with the dying into a moving and compelling meditation on the healing power of -holding space- for all involved in caring for the dying, a healing sorely needed in our culture at this time.

I am not sure what I expected from this book ... I initially thought that it would be relevant as I have elderly parents. The book is well written but I found it dry as dust and about as interesting as it. Maybe I was in a bad mood but this book just ANNOYED me. Henceforth I declined to finish it. As much as I enjoyed my free copy of it it is not something I would ever buy or recommend. Sorry. NOT FOR ME.