Acknowledgments
I did not choose to write this book. As I describe in the book I received a surprising nudge that opened within me an explosive interest in discovering how to prepare for the end of my life. The other books I’ve written have also been a surprise for me, but this is the biggest one. The journey of this book has taken several years and the support and help of many people.
The book would never have been born to the world without the work of my remarkable literary agent Steve Harris. His visionary ability saw the uniqueness and the “first of a kind work” that he said would heal many people. He worked tirelessly to find just the right publisher, and it was Llewellyn Worldwide. Without David Kyle, my husband, this book would never have been introduced to Steve Harris. David’s encouragement and supportive love and care opened me up to seeing that this book was for the world, not just our family.
A big thank you to Robin Milam, who is a bright, stable, and loving force in my life. She is a gift beyond words. Her assistance created a successful introductory class to present the book to twelve courageous people and continues to support me in many ways. My deep bow to Ann Deden, Janaia Donaldson, Rhonda Clark, Maggie Cull, Bonnie Hensel, Carol Nimick, Connie Parsons, Linsey Richards, Lew Sitzer, Kate Stewart, and Jacque Weills. You all indicated at the end of the course that you had faced death and no longer feared the process. Thank you all so much. Your involvement and energy gave flight to this book. A big hand for Michael Logue, who recorded and created the video and audio on the sixteen bonus video meditations. I so appreciate his knowledge and understanding of the art. Along with Michael was Adam Verhasselt, who filmed and orchestrated the introduction to the videos. I couldn’t have done it without them.
I have so appreciated the many people who read the manuscript and gave strong endorsements for this work. Stephanie Moran, an incredible editor, was the first to bless and encourage me to bring the book out into the world. Lastly, I am grateful for Llewellyn Worldwide’s publisher, Bill Krause, for his commitment to the book and to my editor Angela Wix, who touched my heart when she said that she had been looking for a book like this one. Her commitment to make the book “sing” and her attention to detail gave the book a deep clarity. The staff at Llewellyn, including Stephanie Finne, who did an amazing job fine-tuning the manuscript, Lynne Menturweck, and Vanessa Wright, whose enthusiasm and skill pushed the book out into the world, have worked hard to make the book better and valued the importance of how we view our end of life process. I am truly grateful to all who have helped me at Llewellyn.
And to you, my readers, I am grateful that you are willing to take this journey of facing your own death and learning that it can create freedom and more vitality in your life now.