A young interfaith chaplain is joined on her hospital rounds one night by an unusual companion: a rough-and-ready dog who may or may not be a ghost. As she tends to the souls of her patients—young and old, living last moments or navigating fundamentally altered lives—their stories provide unexpected healing for her own heartbreak. Balancing wonder and mystery with pragmatism and humor, Ellen Cooney returns with a generous, intelligent novel that grants the most challenging moments of the human experience a shimmer of light and magical possibility. From stories about those who have left us too soon to families who come together to work through a heartbreaking diagnosis, books can help us emotionally work through our own experiences of the end of life and find comfort in the shared experiences that skilled writers share with us on those topics. Here are some of our top picks for exploring the many ways that the end of life can manifest itself, be it far too early or after a long life well lived. Continuing your journey of understanding? Check out these 50 Must-Read Books For Tackling Fear of Death and A Year of Mourning and Reading.
