The Most Important Day of Your Life: Are You Ready?
Bridge to Dreams, 2010. 102 pages. ISBN 9780975293218

Once again Maria Dancing Heart has written a book that is guaranteed to open up conversations about end-of-life issues. Using stories and anecdotes, she takes us through anxiety and fears about death and dying with humor and meditation exercises to help not just when we are dying but long before the thought even enters our minds. She compares her hospice work to a near-death experience in slow motion-- how she has come to see the light through being with the dying, and ends the book with 20 questions you've always wanted to ask a hospice counsleor.

-- Diane Goble, Transition Guide

This book is full of wonderful, off the beaten path resources for the dying and those who love them! Great work, Maria.

-- Kimberly Saavedra (Kamlak Center)

Reading The Most Important Day in Your Life: Are You Ready? could --

1. Bring more joy into your life.
2. Allow you to live more fully in the present (moment).
3. Assist you to go deeper spiritually.
4. Help you become a better partner and friend.
5. Move you to delve into the mystery and magic of life.
6. Help you to become a better caregiver.
7. Challenge you to know "who you really are!"
8. Allow you to move through life transitions with more grace and ease.
9. Help you to help your parents and elders face the aging process.
10. Show you some of the best kept secret treasures of hospice.
11. Allow you to discover what comes after life.
12. Show you how to prepare to "start the conversation" with someone you love.

The Last Adventure of Life: Sacred Resources for Living and Dying from a Hospice Counselor
Findhorn Press, 2008. 263 pages. ISBN 9781844091379

"Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross once had a patient who said to her 'I want to live through my dying.' Anyone who shares that sentiment will find The Last Adventure of Life a way to expand their consciousness and to prepare for that moment."
-- Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

See an introductory article by the author at the Natural Choice Directory site.

For an excerpt from the book (pdf), click here.

The Last Adventure of Life: Sacred Resources for Living and Dying from a Hospice Counselor is a collection of inspirational stories, poetry, scripture, prayers, and resources. These pieces come from all walks of life to help the reader acknowledge the unity and interconnectedness of all. It has been aptly called "a book for healing and prayer." People who may especially appreciate this book are:

Because Maria's work in spiritual and bereavement care with hospice honors the interconnectedness of all things, this book has a universal perspective and appeal. Anyone interested in the mystical Oneness of All could appreciate it; it is also likely to assist those desiring to go deeper spiritually. This book includes inspirational stories, poetry, scripture, prayers, and guided meditations. It also has chapters on grief and relaxation/healing tools, and a wealth of reference material. It is a "treasure trove of hope and healing," reframing the experience of death as a new and exciting chapter in life.