ASHEVILLE, N.C., Aug 05, 2020 – Individuals who are living with a terminal illness and the people who love them can now deeply transform their shared experience of the dying process, thanks to a new book released today by author Melody LeBaron, “Transforming Death: Creating Sacred Space for the Dying” (ISBN: 978-1733477123).
“Transforming Death: Creating Sacred Space for the Dying,” breaks new ground as the only book in its genre which explores how to partner with the environment to support the deep, transformative process of dying. The book is available for purchase on Amazon in Kindle and paperback formats.
“Now is the time to bring death back into its place in the circle of life,” she says. “Cultivating a sense of presence through the creation of sacred space helps to shape that experience.”
LeBaron wrote “Transforming Death: Creating Sacred Space for the Dying” for each person who will someday die, for those who seek a more conscious death, and for the caregivers of persons living with a terminal diagnosis.
“Each dying person needs a team,” she says. “Ideally, there is more than one caregiver, so responsibilities are shared, community is strengthened, and no one gets depleted.”
The work is grounded, foremost, in LeBaron’s first-hand experience of the death of her mother in 1990, followed by the loss of her younger sister in 1995, and her 17-year-old son, Logan, in 1997. The difficulty and rewards of these challenges served as an initiation into what she now calls “the death mysteries.”
“‘Transforming Death,’ is the book I needed all those years ago,” she says. “A book for preparing ourselves and those we love for a natural, conscious process of death and dying.”
Much as one might read parenting books before the birth of a new baby, she had hoped to prepare for the arduous journey ahead. However, in the 1990s, there was only one book on death and dying, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’ groundbreaking 1969 work, “On Death and Dying.”
“Life will guide you where it wants you to go,” she says. “When I face something hard, I try to deliberately work through my denial and prepare for it.”
Fortunately, she found a like-minded mentor in the late Sharon Turnball, Tennessee’s first female funeral director. Turnball suggested she perform a beautiful ritual – that of preparing her mother’s body for burial. That experience and insights would change LeBaron’s life and work forever.
“We need to partner with death instead of resisting it,” she says.
At this time, the pervasive presence of death seems an indelible part of our world’s overculture, LeBaron notes.
Each of us must develop the ability to find meaning and healing in the face of death as a pandemic spreads and 20th century structures crumble. We mark the demise of American culture with the passing of family members, friends, and idols of bygone days.
“There’s a collective dying and grieving process as we come to understand what is in the present, versus what once was in the past,” she says. “For those who are aware of what’s happening in the world today, and struggling to understand and stay uplifted, this book will help them, too.”
About the Author
Author Melody LeBaron has been called to midwife the dying for more than 30 years. She works with the dying and their caregivers to create an optimal conscious death experience, catalyze the difficult emotions evoked through grief, and claim the gifts of the grieving process. Melody also facilitates a leadership process for women, and coaches clients through the process of transforming their homes and workspaces, their relationships and their lives. For more information, visit https://www.transformingspace.com/.
BOOK SUMMARY:
“Transforming Death: Creating Sacred Space for the Dying”
By Melody LeBaron
Published by Melody LeBaron.
July 14, 2020
$9.97/Kindle
264 pages
ISBN: 978-1-7334771-1-6 (e-book)
July 14, 2020
$19.97/paperback
264 pages
ISBN: 978-1-7334771-2-3 (paperback)
Library of Congress Catalog Number: 2020911008
News Source: Melody LeBaron
Related link: https://www.transformingspace.com/