I started collecting stories of people's experience with death. I wanted to know what actually happened at the time of death so that I could see if my mothers experience was typical. What I found is the more I heard these stories the more my mother's death seemed less traumatic. It seemed more like a part of the way we live and die. I have come to believe that witnessing my mother's death allowed me to experience something holy and that reading about other family's deaths have brought me peace. Because of that, I wanted to put together some of these stories in hopes that you will be better prepared for your own death or the death of a loved one. All of the stories have been written by the authors. I have combined and edited letters they wrote to make a complete story but the words are theirs. Some have been changed considerably to respect the privacy of the families who shared their stories. I hope that all of them help you prepare for death. And I hope that you too experience the holiness, and find the peace of death.
