A Sacred Walk; Dispelling the Fear of Death and Caring for the Dying by Donna M. Authers. Charlottesville, VA: A&A Publishing; 2008; 213 pages. Paperback; $15.95.
The overall purpose of A Sacred Walk is to provide comfort and helpful information for individuals interested in learning about some of the practical and spiritual issues that arise when caring for an individual who is dying. The author writes earnestly, in a way that makes the readers feel that they are reading a letter from a friend that describes the challenges of caring for the dying. The book is anecdotal in nature and describes the author's experiences with death from the time she was a child to the time when she is present for her own mother's terminal struggle with cancer. The book is divided into 3 parts: part 1-"The Fear of Death," part 2-"Preparing to Die," and part 3-"Experiencing Death." Part 1 describes the author's background with death and explains how many of the role models in her life taught her the most when they themselves were confronting death. It also describes her spiritual journey with Christianity. Part 2 focuses on practical advice about everyday obstacles that must be dealt with when caring for a dying loved one. In this part of the book, the author describes what hospice care is and how it can help, as well as teaches the reader how to be cared for and how to care for others. Part 3 of the book is the author's intimate description of the last few weeks and months of her mother's life and what it was like to care for a terminally ill family member. Much of the book is biographical with descriptions of the author's life, experiences, personality, relationships, and faith.
The author is heavily influenced by Christianity and quotes many verses from the Bible. The author also periodically highlights particular phrases or sentences that she found helpful in her own experiences with dying loved ones. There are also several prayers throughout the book that were of importance to the author or her family.
A Sacred Walk has many strengths. The author's genuine desire to help, comfort, and teach is evident. The honest questions that the author asks the reader are genuine and do not sound pedantic or patronizing. Donna Authers is clearly trying to do her best to share the difficult lessons that she learned about death and the very human quality of fear of death. The author is also honest and revealing about intimate details of her life and her family's relationships. These sentiments evoke empathy and compassion rather than distaste or boredom. Her honest desire to help others is apparent and evokes a friendship in the reader.
The author's information about hospice care and her description of practical issues that arise for the family of the chronically ill are accurate. Her vivid description of the death of her mother is intimate, but helpful as no detail is spared, and is of great value to readers who may face a similar event.
Although this book has many helpful and practical aspects, it is overshadowed by the religious content of the book. Although the title, A Sacred Walk, does imply a spiritual aspect the book, the sheer intensity and volume of religious references and certainty is surprising, because the spiritual content of the book is in no way general. It is exclusively Christian. The practical advice and information is almost lost in a recital of the author's religious journey to Christianity. Individuals who do not practice Christianity may be better off seeking a practical guide for how to care for loved ones that is not as imbued with Christianity. The greatest weakness of the book is not its overarching Christian message, it is that the reader has no idea when reading the title or the description of the book on the back cover that they will be reading a book teeming with religious references, experiences, and overtones. It was very off-putting to expect a practical guidebook and instead be confronted with a host of specifically Christian events. Although many readers may draw comforting spiritual as well as practical values from the book, it should be much more clearly stated what is in store for the reader.
Overall, I was left with the impression that the author is a genuine, empathetic, and caring person, who truly wishes that everyone can have the tools they need to walk with their loved ones along their personal journey to the end of their life. This book could be quite relevant to individuals of the general public who are seeking information on the practical and spiritual components of end of life care. Today's health care environment is one that would greatly benefit from more honest information about hospice and terminal illness.
-Kim Lingel, RN, MSN, CNL
Rohnert Park Cancer Center
Rohnert Park, CA