Excerpt from "Sweet Reverence"I wrote Sweet Reverence for four reasons. The first was because Anna said to me the night that John died, "Lyn, you have to write a book about this. You just have to. It’s not for me to do. It’s for you to do." I agreed that the story needed to be told, because there was just too much in John’s dying that needed to be shared. Why Anna suggested that I write it, I wasn’t sure, as I had never written a book before. But there it was like a last wish and I agreed to fulfill it. Secondly, it is my hope that Sweet Reverence will help people who are facing end-of-life issues. It has been my experience that when family and friends and those who are dying begin to face the raw reality of death, the larger issues of life often begin to surface. In other words, the "stuff" that many of us try to hide from one another and ourselves bubbles up. Emotions can get hotter than ever before. To me, these are signals offering healing. Somehow, either logically or illogically our inner self begins to realize dying is the last chance to heal life-long issues. Healing these issues helps bring about a peaceful passing and can ease grieving. Not always are we fortunate enough to have the circumstances that will afford the time to work through the issues, but if it is possible, I think it’s certainly worth making the effort. Additionally, I wanted to show through real life experience what it’s like to be with someone who is dying. Several years before being with John, I went through a period in my life where I was worried about my own dying. To face my fear, I took a class on death and dying and through that class I learned about Elisabeth Kübler-Ross. I learned how important it is to the dying that their loved ones be present without fear. After that, and especially after learning about Dannion Brinkley, I decided I wanted to become a hospice volunteer. This story offers my perspective not only as a family member and friend of Anna and John, but also my viewpoint as a hospice volunteer, based on the volunteer training I had received. The final reason I wrote Sweet Reverence was to share my personal, spiritual awakening experience. This turned out to be the most difficult part of the story to write. I struggled over whether to include it, as I imagined some people could find it hard to believe. (It was certainly a challenge even for me to believe.) I realized, however, that the story would not be complete if I left it out. The mystical experience I had, which permeated throughout John’s dying, had to be told. It confirmed to me that life existed after death. I think that a lot of people are afraid to let go of their lives and accept death because it is the great unknown. Religion teaches us that there is a God and there is a Heaven, but how often are we graced with the experience of knowing? Many people who have had near-death experiences know. They speak out through IANDS on what they have learned. It seems to me the problem is that when we get to know, often times humanity wants to question the soundness of the mind. After all, God is intangible. How can we prove that God exists, that Heaven exists, that Spirit exists? Probably the answers can be found through the experience of knowing. In this true story, it is my hope that more of humanity will believe without a doubt that life is a powerful, spiritual, universal force and that when we die, it is not at all the end. |