“A Year to Live” by Stephen Levine

“When a journey is in our future, it is never too soon to check out the travel guides and customs, and to learn the language of the world approaching.” – Stephen Levine

As the author and his wife face serious illness that has them quite possibly approaching the end-of-life, I picked up a copy of Stephen Levine’s 2009 book A Year to Live, in which the couple lived a full year as if it were their last. An author and teacher well-known for his work about death and dying, Levine undertook the experiment to see what he might discover about living by preparing to die.

A Year to Live teaches us how to live consciously and mindfully, every single day, hour, moment — as if it were our last. Through his work with people facing the end-of-life, Levine noted with dismay the regrets that many had, that they hadn’t fully lived their lives. When given a terminal diagnosis and just months or weeks to live, suddenly people found clarity and realized what was important to their lives — though with so little time left to live it. Levine decided, why wait for a terminal diagnosis to start living every moment fully?

The book follow’s Stephen and wife Ondrea‘s year-long journey, preparing for death and the lessons learned. Rather than a morbid experiment, this preparation was a “process of clarity, insight, and closure” that many don’t get to experience until it’s too late. So many of us work hard to ignore the inevitability of death, and never fully live because of it. We always think, “I’ve got tomorrow to do that.” We block our own death from our minds and find that when it approaches, we’re entirely unprepared.

Stephen and Ondrea Levine (Source)

Through A Year to Live, Levine provides a year-long program that anyone can adopt to start living more consciously and mindfully now, rather than wait for that diagnosis. By living each moment fully, we will not be left with loose ends, unfinished business, regrets, when we face the end-of-life.

It’s a great read for anyone who could use a nudge toward mindfulness in life, and those who need a hand in dealing with the approaching death of a loved one or their own. Levine’s practical strategies help you define, understand, and embrace death as a natural part of the journey of life. The program encourages you to meditate on life and death and come to fully appreciate every moment.