A Selection of Books about Death, Dying and Grief

Embarking on the topic of death and dying can be both scary and fascinating. Books can be great guides on this journey, giving us comfort and new perspectives. In this blog post, we’ll explore some of the best books about death and dying. From deep thoughts to personal stories, these books help us understand and cope with mortality. Whether you’re dealing with grief or thinking about life’s big questions, these books offer wisdom and support to navigate through it all.

Books on Coping with Death and Dying

Death and Dying, by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Scribner, 2011

In this trailblazing book, Dr. Kübler-Ross first explored the five stages of death: denial and isolation, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

Being Mortal, by Atul Gawande, Henry Holt and Company, 2014

Atul Gawande, a surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, tackles the hardest challenge of his profession: the issue of how modern medicine’s goals for saving lives at all costs can sometimes turn people’s end-of-life experiences into nightmares.

The Best Care Possible: A Physician’s Quest to Transform Care Through the End of Life, by Ira Byock, MD, Avery, 2013

Dr. Ira Byock, a palliative-care physician, argues that in order to “ensure the best possible care for those we love -and eventually ourselves- we must not only remake our healthcare system, we must also move past our cultural aversion to talking about death.”

No Death, No Fear: Comforting Wisdom for Life, by Thich Nhat Hanh, Riverhead Books, 2003

The acclaimed teacher examines our concepts of death, fear, and the very nature of existence. Through Zen parables, guided meditations, and personal accounts, he shatters traditional myths of how we live and die and shows us a way to live a life free of fear.

Walking Each Other Home: Conversations on Loving and Dying, by Ram Dass and Mirabai Bush, Sounds True, 2018

Two extraordinary teachers delve into the spiritual opportunities of the dying process. You’ll explore how to companion the dying, how to grieve fully and authentically, how to transform a fear of death, how to leave a spiritual legacy, and how to create a sacred space for dying.

Advice For Future Corpses: A Practical Perspective on Death and Dying, by Sarah Tisdale, Gallery Books, 2018

Informed by her many years working as a nurse, Tisdale provides a direct and compassionate meditation on the end of life. Topics explored include what it means to die “a good death,” what to expect during the last months, weeks, days, and hours of life, what happens to a body after death, and more.

When Breath Becomes Air, by Paul Kalanithi, Random House, 2016

At the age of 36, on the verge of completing his training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. This book chronicles Kalanithi’s transformation from a naïve medical student into a neurosurgeon at Stanford and finally into a patient and new father confronting his own mortality.

Waiting for the Last Bus: Reflections on Life and Death, by Richard Holloway, Canongate Books, 2018

Former Bishop of Edinburgh Richard Holloway has spent a lifetime at the bedsides of the dying, guiding countless men and women towards peaceful deaths. He presents a positive, meditative and profound exploration of the many important lessons we can learn from death: facing up to the limitations of our bodies as they fade, reflecting on our shortcomings, and forgiving ourselves and others.

Books on Near Death Experiences (NDEs)

Dying to Be Me, by Anita Moorjani Hay House, Inc., 2022

In this thought-provoking memoir, Anita Moorjani tells how, after fighting cancer for almost four years, her body was overcome by malignant cells. As her organs shut down, she entered into an extraordinary near-death experience.

Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife, by Eben Alexander, MD, Simon & Schuster, 2012

As a highly trained neurosurgeon and scientist, Dr. Alexander believed that NDEs were fantasies. Then, Alexander’s own brain was besieged by a rare illness. For the seven days he lay in a coma, his profound spiritual journey defied anything he thought he knew.

Books on Death & Dying if You’re Not Spiritual

The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion, Vintage, 2007

Joan Didion wrote this book following the sudden death of her husband while they were dealing with their daughter’s life-threatening illness. This powerful book is her attempt to make sense of any fixed idea she ever had about death, about illness, and about life itself.

Dying: A Memoir, by Cory Taylor, Tin House Books, 2017

At the age of sixty, Cory Taylor, who saw herself as secular, is dying of brain cancer. She describes the experience-the vulnerability and strength, the courage and humility, the anger and acceptance-of knowing her end is near.

Books on Grief

How to Carry What Can’t Be Fixed: A Journal for Grief, by Megan Devine, Sounds True, 2021

This journal includes numerous prompts to help you honor your heartbreak. The author sees grief as not a problem to be solved, but rather an experience to be carried. She provides guidance for those unfamiliar with journaling and invites you to write in, draw in and make the journal your own.

I’m Not a Mourning Person: Braving Loss, Grief, and the Big Messy Emotions That Happen When Life Falls Apart, Kris Carr, Hay House, Inc., 2023

When her father was dying from cancer in the middle of the pandemic and she was about to reach her own 20-year milestone as a survivor of stage IV cancer, Kris Carr had a meltdown in the middle of the CVS parking lot. She wondered why if embracing her messy emotions made her feel the slightest bit better, why had she been avoiding grief.

The Grief Recovery Handbook, 20th Anniversary Expanded Edition: The Action Program for Moving Beyond Death, Divorce, and Other Losses including Health, Career, and Faith, by John W. James and Russell Friedman, William Morrow, 2009

This resource explores the effects of grief and sheds new light on how to begin to take effective steps to complete the grieving process and move towards recovery and happiness.