Life Lessons (book Review)

Annie Thermidor

Life Lessons from Elizabeth Kubler-Ross and David

Kessler.

Main theme:

In this book, Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross teamed up with

end-of-life specialist David Kessler to write for the

first time about life and living. The authors present

fourteen lessons passed on to us from the dying to

help us deal better with the issues we face in life.

Both authors consider the dying as great teachers

because, “it’s when we are pushed to the edge of life

that we see life more clearly” (Kessler & Kubler-Ross,

2000, p15).

Rather than writing in one unitary voice, the two

authors speak separately on personal experiences and

case histories, with each writer’s portion of text

starting with their initials. Each lesson is comprised

within fourteen chapters, starting from authenticity

and ending with happiness. The authors also go into

detail about the lessons of guilt, fear, loss, anger,

power, surrender, forgiveness, love, relationships,

patience, time and play. Behind this book is a drive

to get the reader to gain more awareness of him or

herself in order to enjoy the experience of life.

Not all the lessons presented are enjoyable and

mastering them all is quite impossible. However,

learning these lessons can enrich the texture of our

lives. In fact, their purpose is to prevent us from

having any “unfinished business” at the time of our

death. “The more lessons we learn the more business we

finish, and the more fully we live, really live life.”

(Kessler & Kubler-Ross, 2000, p 12).

How this book relates to the overall course:

This book is unique because of its focus on life and

living. I appreciate the fact that the authors

emphasize on learning from the dying because I feel

it’s one of the main goals of our class. Seeing life

from its outer edge, one is compelled to view life as

a privilege, a gift. Sadly, it often takes a life

threatening event for us to realize the bounty of our

existence. “The dying learns a great deal at the end

of life, usually when it is too late to apply”

(Kessler & Kubler-Ross, 2000, p 11). From reading the

book, one realizes that death can come sooner than we

think. It should be a priority for us to refocus our

lives daily, so that when the time comes there is no

regret but only peace of mind.

The two authors present