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A Beginner's Guide to Dying

The Sunday Times Bestseller, 'Has anyone ever written a more inspirational paean to the joy of life?' Daily Mail
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( 1,264 ratings, 179 reviews)
Brief Description
It isn't quite 'Don't buy any green bananas'. But it's close to 'Don't start any long books'. In his mid-40s, Simon Boas was diagnosed with incurable cancer - it had been caught too late, and spread around his body. But he was determined to die as... Read More
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"In his mid-40s, aid worker Simon Boas was diagnosed with incurable cancer-it had been caught too late, and spread throughout his body. But he was determined to die as he had learned to live-optimistically, thinking the best of people, and prioritizing what really matters in life. This book traces Boas' exploration of this practice"--

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

It isn't quite 'Don't buy any green bananas'. But it's close to 'Don't start any long books'.

In his mid-40s, Simon Boas was diagnosed with incurable cancer - it had been caught too late, and spread around his body. But he was determined to die as he had learned to live - optimistically, thinking the best of people, and prioritising what really matters in life.

In A Beginner's Guide to Dying, Simon considers and collates the things that have given him such a great sense of peace and contentment, and why dying at 46 really isn't so bad. And for that reason, it's also only partly about 'dying'. It is mostly a hymn to the joy and preciousness of life, and why giving death a place can help all of us make even more of it.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781800755031

Publisher: Swift Press

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 12 September 2024

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Swift Press

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 160

About the Author

Simon Boas was born in 1977 and spent his childhood in London and Winchester. He got the bug for Overseas Aid after delivering his first aid convoy to Bosnia (at 16) in 1993, and went on to spend his career working for development charities and the UN. He worked in Africa for many years, and lived in Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey, Nepal, India, and the Palestinian Territories, including three years running a UN office in the Gaza Strip. He spent his last eight years living in Jersey, running the Island's Overseas Aid agency, accompanied by his beloved wife Aurelie and his scruffy French sheepdog, Pippin.

At 46 he was diagnosed with advanced throat cancer and had a year of living dyingly, during which he found himself as happy as he'd ever been. He wrote about this for his local paper, which went viral, and this encouraged him to try to expand on why hopping the twig at 46 really isn't so bad. A Beginner's Guide to Dying is the result.

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