Every one born on this planet has to die one day. Death is something no human being can escape. Death and dying are an inevitable part of human life. Death is universal. Every day, thousands of people die in every country throughout the globe. No one is promised a tomorrow. The only thing we can count on is today and this moment. Death crosses all barriers of religion, ethnicity, language, color, civilization, and culture. Death remains a grand mystery. Throughout history, every religion and every school of philosophy have attempted to explain this mystery. It is something that touches the life of every man and woman, binding the entire human race under the sky. It catches the rich and the poor and throws the black and the white in the grave. The powerful and the humble, all leave this world eventually. But the process of dying need not be painful as many imagine it to be. The knowledge about death and dying and preparing oneself to accept it as a new form of life can make the experience of dying more graceful and peaceful. The intervention of caregivers can play a vital role to make this happen.

Textbook for Death & Dying courses in psych, soc, soc work, nursing, development, and counseling depts.

In 1998, a determined Waterford hurling team made their way to their first All-Ireland semi-final in almost forty years, their sights firmly set on the final, which would be their first since 1963.But destiny conspired against them and they lost. Over the next twelve years they would, time and time again, play spell-binding hurling, reach the Semi-Finals seven times, Player of the Year Awards and multiple All-Star honours and come agonisingly close to winning one of the biggest prizes in Irish sport. In The Ecstasy and the Agony, Damien Tiernan goes behind the scenes and takes an unflinchingly honest look at how such a great team can come so close to major triumphs but still walked away without the top honours. In over sixty interviews with key players, backroom staff, selectors and managers including Justin McCarthy, Paul Flynn, Davy Fitzgerald, Dan Shanahan, Eoin Kelly, Stephen Molumphy, Ken McGrath, Gerald McCarthy, and many others - Tiernan examines the controversies that have dogged Waterford hurling in recent years. Who are the leaders? What are the key moments around which victory and defeat revolve? And what, ultimately, are the lessons learned? The Ecstasy and the Agony is the full and honest account of a team who will never stop believing.

This engaging and informative resource provides readers with an understanding of the social, cultural, and historical influences that shape our encounters with death, dying, and bereavement—a universal experience across humanity. Written in an engaging and accessible style by leading international scholars and practitioners from within the field of death and bereavement studies, this book will have broad appeal, providing in a single volume insights from some of the key thinkers within the interdisciplinary field of death, dying, and bereavement. Its approximately 200 entries will serve as useful starting points for those new to the topic and will be informative to those already acquainted with some of the core concepts and ideas within this burgeoning field of inquiry. This encyclopedia will serve as an essential resource for high school and undergraduate students, those engaged in independent research, and professionals whose work involves caring for the dead, dying, and bereaved. It will also be of great interest to general readers intrigued by the social, medical, and cultural dimensions to human mortality. Underscored by the inescapable biological certainties that affect us all, The A–Z of Death and Dying offers a highly relevant examination of the social and historical variation in the rituals, practices, and beliefs surrounding the end of life.

Daria Klimentová's sizzling chemistry with Russian dancer Vadim Muntagirov, who is nearly 20 years her junior, has reignited the prima ballerina's career - and marks a metamorphosis after her Black Swan-style torments depicted in BBC Four's Agony and Ecstasy, the gripping documentary series aired last year. There has been a metamorphosis since the 'old ballerina' allowed herself to be browbeaten by domineering choreographer Derek Deane, and Daria and Vadim are being applauded as the new Fonteyn and Nureyev. But unlike Vadim, Daria wasn't raised in a ballet family. Born in Prague, she was talent-spotted as a gymnast when she was five. She had a ballet lesson once a week and her teacher advised her parents that ballet might offer a longer career. Daria didn't much care but changed her mind once she set her heart on dancing at Prague's National Theatre. She became a soloist there at 18, and then spent three years with the Scottish Ballet before joining the ENB in 1996. Her innate tenacity has seen Daria through some tough times. Her father, a factory mechanic and her greatest fan, died from lung cancer when she was newly arrived in London and didn't have many friends. When her only brother Radek was killed in a motorcycle accident, she cried all day then had to go on stage to dance Giselle. That was the greatest pain she has ever known, she says. It gave her a determination to enjoy life and keep ballet in perspective. Similarly when she fell pregnant with her first child, Daria explains how those around her where shocked that she was not more concerned with the upcoming performance of Sleeping Beauty. In her wonderful and insightful autobiography Daria reveals what life is like behind the scenes and how you really can have it all.

Irving Stone's powerful and passionate biographical novel of Michelangelo. His time: the turbulent Renaissance, the years of poisoning princes, warring popes, the all-powerful Medici family, the fanatic monk Savonarola. His loves: the frail and lovely daughter of Lorenzo de Medici; the ardent mistress of Marco Aldovrandi; and his last love - his greatest love - the beautiful, unhappy Vittoria Colonna. His genius: a God-driven fury from which he wrested the greatest art the world has ever known. Michelangelo Buonarotti, creator of David, painter of the Sistine ceiling, architect of the dome of St Peter's, lives once more in the tempestuous, powerful pages of Irving Stone's marvellous book.

Agony & Ecstasy is collection of poetry and prose curated and edited by Jane E. Stahl & Sandra Williams. The book, and the illustrations in it, are a product of Studio B Artists. Studio B is a community run art gallery located at 39A East Philadelphia Avenue, in Boyertown, PA. This volume was created to accompany an exhibition by the same name.

Barker has been acclaimed as 'England's greatest living dramatist' in The Times and as 'the Shakespeare of our age' by Sarah Kane. His uniquely stylish work brings together startlingly original forms of classical discipline, moral ruthlessness and catastrophic eroticism. This study considers the full range of his theatrical achievements.

A story of a young person's experience of the drug ecstasy and how she emerged from her dark night into a new life. After a description of the highs, the author gives an account of her first euphoric trip, a flashback to childhood, a sensation of the whole of life flashing before her, and the depression that followed.

"A fascinating holographic image built up layer by layer of a multitude of images & voices. It is to be read & savored - as poetry, as an ease to grief, as a glimpse along the private path marked 'This Way to Death.' Don't put it off until tomorrow. Read it now."--Susun S. Weed, internationally acclaimed herbalist & author. This special collection addresses many of the issues & concerns of the dying process: grief, letting go, considering suicide, healing relationships, sharing the stories of your life one last time, & finding humor in rare moments. It is a story of one family coping with a life threatening illness for thirteen years, that eventually ended in death. The poems & stories that make up this unique collection are well crafted, evocative, & at times intensely moving. The narrative is revealing, yet allows the reader to draw his or her own conclusions. Barbara Feldt speaks directly of her impending death, aided by her family's reflections. A book that is hard to put down, & a valuable reference. Available from Moon Field Press, P.O. Box 3218, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-3218, FAX 313-662-5227, e-mail: mfpress@aol.com.