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Waiting for the Last Bus

Reflections on Life and Death
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( 535 ratings, 77 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
In Waiting for the Last Bus, Richard Holloway, former Bishop of Edinburgh, offers a deeply personal and profound reflection on death, drawn from a lifetime spent comforting the dying. Approaching his ninth decade, Holloway urges readers to reconnect with the reality of death as a way to understand the true meaning of life, transforming sorrow into acceptance and peace. This moving memoir is both a radical and joyful meditation on life's greatest mystery.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book is ideal for readers interested in biography, memoir, spirituality, and those seeking thoughtful engagement with themes of mortality and meaning. It will appeal to individuals who appreciate reflective, gentle, and insightful writing on life’s ultimate questions.

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The moving and profound exploration of life's greatest mystery from one of the most revered religious figures of our time.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Now in his ninth decade, former Bishop of Edinburgh Richard Holloway has spent a lifetime at the bedsides of the dying, guiding countless men and women towards peaceful deaths. A positive and profound exploration of the many important lessons we can learn, this is also a stirring plea to reacquaint ourselves with death. Doing so gives us the chance to think about the meaning of life itself; and can mean the difference between ordinary sorrow and unbearable regret at the end.

Radical, joyful and moving, Waiting for the Last Bus is an invitation to reconsider life's greatest mystery by one of the most important and beloved religious leaders of our time.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Praised as a "wonderful, wise, compassionate and befriending piece of work" by Kathryn Mannix and described by Alexander McCall Smith as "thought-provoking, revelatory, grave and comforting," this book has garnered acclaim for its elegance, depth, and warmth. Elif Shafak likens the experience of reading it to a long countryside walk that leaves one feeling wiser and less lonely. Recognised by The Guardian, The Observer, and The Scotsman for its meditative and courageous tone, it is celebrated for offering a compassionate perspective beyond any single religious viewpoint.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781786890245

Publisher: Canongate Books

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 04 April 2019

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Canongate Books

Edition: Main

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 11.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 123g

Pages: 176

About the Author

Richard Holloway was Bishop of Edinburgh and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church. A former Gresham Professor of Divinity and Chairman of the Joint Board of the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen, he is a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Leaving Alexandria won the PEN/Ackerley Prize 2013 and was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize 2013. Holloway has written for many newspapers in Britain, including The Times, Guardian, Observer, Herald and Scotsman. He has also presented many series for BBC television and radio; Waiting for the Last Bus originated as a five-part series on Radio 4 in 2016.

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    At fourteen, Richard Holloway left his working-class home north of Glasgow and travelled hundreds of miles to an English monastery to be trained for the priesthood. By twenty-five, he had been ordained and was working in the slums of Glasgow. In 2000 he controversially resigned as Bishop of Edinburgh, having lost heart with the Church over its condemnation of homosexuality....
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  • On Reflection
    In On Reflection, Richard Holloway thinks back on some of the questions that have shaped his life, sharing the wisdom of poets, writers, musicians, and artists he has encountered along the way. How can we forgive? Where does creativity come from? How can we face loss and death? How can we live a good life? How do we find beauty...
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    In On Reflection, Richard Holloway thinks back on some of the questions that have shaped his life. Here, then, are the big asks: is there a God? How can we forgive? Where does creativity come from? How can we face loss and death? How can we live a good life? And how do we find beauty in the world? To...
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  • A Little History of Religion
    A rich and inclusive history of belief, from humanity's earliest days to our own times Religion is distinctly human. We can't help wondering about where we come from and why we are here. Did some all-powerful being make the universe? When we die, is there anything else to come? And what will it be like? Questions like these have occupied...
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  • The Heart of Things
    Richard Holloway is one of our most beloved public thinkers. Throughout his life he has turned to poets and writers to help answer the big questions, and for solace and guidance in the face of life's challenges. Now he shares those poems and words which have been his own guide, offered in the hope they will help us too. The...
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    Throughout history, we have told ourselves stories to try and make sense of our place in the universe. Richard Holloway takes us on a personal, scientific, and philosophical journey to explore what he believes are the answers to the biggest questions. He examines what we know about the universe into which we are propelled at birth and from which we...
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  • Last Words
    Richard Holloway has been the archetypal 'turbulent priest'. Having risen to be the Primus (Head) of the Scottish Episcopal Church, he abandoned religion and ecclesiastical office to fight for the rights of minorities and to write a string of best-selling books, most famously Leaving Alexandria. He also became Chairman of the Scottish Arts Council. In this, his last book, Last...
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