The Final Deadline: What Death Has Taught Me about Life

In contrast to religious traditions that attempt to shield us from death by promising eternal life or by denying or demeaning physical existence, Glaser looks at death directly and with appreciation for what it teaches us about life. Death is an inscrutable and even stern Zen master ready to teach us, a spiritual director eager to inspire us, a soul-friend reminding us that our lifespan has sacred worth.

Glaser writes movingly of the deaths that have shaped his soul, whether those deaths oc...