Henri J. M. Nouwen (1932-1996) is the author of Reaching Out, The Wounded Healer, Making All Things New, The Return of the Prodigal Son, and many other bestsellers. He taught at the universities of Harvard, Yale, and Notre Dame before becoming the senior pastor of L'Arche Daybreak in Toronto, Canada, a community where men and women with intellectual disabilities and their assistants create a home for one another.

Beloved author Henri Nouwen reflects on the spiritual significance of death and life in this moving meditation dedicated to "all those who suffer the pain that death can bring and who search for new life."

“An essay in the form of a long letter to [Nouwen’s] father after the death of his mother. One might well pass it on to anyone who is going through a period of grief after loss.” — Christian Century

“Recognized for the depth and warmth of his spiritual communication, Father Nouwen grapples with death, a particular death--his mother’s...An intelligent, loving letter to a Christian facing a powerful enemy, death.” — Lutheran Libraries

“On the long road it’s good to have Nouwen and his diving rod. Deftly he bends toward the drop of spiritual wisdom caked in the most ordinary things.” — Sister Helen Prejean, C.S.J., author of Dead Man Walking