- Paperback: 176 pages
- Publisher: Basic Books; New edition edition (11 Mar 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0465049311
- ISBN-13: 978-0465049318
- Product Dimensions: 18.3 x 11.7 x 1.3 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 776,010 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
"A profoundly serious rumination on the meaning of life and especially on the meaning of death. Father Neuhaus's book prompts us to think seriously about our own inevitable death, as well as the way we are leading our current lives." --Wall Street Journal..
About the Author
Richard John Neuhaus, acclaimed as o ne of the foremost authorities on religion in the contemporary world, is President of the Institute on Religion and Public Life and editor-in-chief of the Institute's publication First Things. Among h is best-known books are Freedom for Ministry, The Naked Public Square, The Catholic Moment, Believin g Today, and Basic's Death on a Friday Afternoon. He is a priest of the Archdiocese of New York and lives in Manhattan.
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WE ARE BORN to die. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
WE ARE BORN to die. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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16 reviews
66 of 68 people found the following review helpful
Fr. Neuhaus's trip...
4 April 2002
Format:Hardcover
Richard John Neuhaus is the distinguished editor of "First Things" magazine and writes often on many important subjects. His seminal work on the "Public Square" is one I appreciate particularly as he argues that public media today seem to try their best to 'marginalize' any view that comes out Christian -- they think we Christians have no place on the "public square." Obvioudly he takes no truck with that -- and says so.
But in this book, he encounters a different foe -- Death. And he came away a man with a greater understanding of what it is to live and what it is to die -- or nearly die. His doctors had apparently missed a cancerous tumor in his colon -- and he nearly missed living through the experience of emergency surgery -- two of them for the spleen was nicked and internal bleeding required a second surgery on top of the first. All of this meant a *long* recovery and he recounts it with clarity as well as humor.
Having been through a similar (but not so drastic) experience of recovering from major surgery and being hooked up to lots of bleeping and pulsating machines for lengthy periods -- I very much identified with his narrative. He gets it right.
The book is only about 170 pages or so and can be read in a sitting or two. The author rises to crystalline prose at times and I found it to be not only an instructive but enjoyable read. He is not a proponent of the 'near death' experiences exploited by TV shows etc. --- but reveals his own experience with clarity and truth, and believablity.
You'll come away from reading this book with thankfulness for the life you have -- and a determination to live it more fully. That is, I think, the job of a Gospel messenger -- and while this is not a 'devotional' book in that sense -- he lays out very squarely what this experience meant to him, and what clear thinking about that "inevitable event" that happens to us all, ought to mean to us.
Jack Buttram
43 of 44 people found the following review helpful
From the heart...
6 Jun 2002
Format:Hardcover
First of all, I'm very skeptical about anyone being visited by super-natural beings. Indeed, I believe it is wise be skeptical about those kinds of reports. It is essential to test, and critique those accounts. However, with that said, I am also a person who has very much enjoyed the previous writing of Neuhaus - especially `The Naked Public Square'. As a result, I wasn't sure how to take this book. Here are some thoughts.........
--Someone once said, `death is an interesting statistic, it's one out of one'. We will all face death and as a result our awareness of death can be both existentially shocking as well as an intense motivator for pursuing ultimate reality and religious truth. Neuhaus does a great job of guiding the reader to this realization.
--Neuhaus writes a book, which is dramatically different from books like `Embraced by the Light'. It is a book not about warm and subjective feelings, but it is about how we face the difficulty of dieing. How do people who believe very different things deal with death and react to dieing? Where can we find comfort? What is true about the after-life? These are complex questions requiring honest answers. Neuhaus is honest, but I wish he had been more specific regarding how he answers these questions.
--I do appreciate his non-sentimental writing and his willingness to write a book as personal as this one. There's no question this book ends up being inspirational, however, I'm still not sure on exactly what Neuhaus prescribes for the problem of the human condition. Is it religion, relationship, forgiveness, faith? Since he is a Catholic his religious convictions do come through, but if I had my way, I wish he was a bit more theological in his conclusions.
34 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Neuhaus hits the mark
21 Aug 2004
Format:Paperback
"I almost died." That phrase in particular characterizes the style of "As I Lay Dying." If you are familiar with Fr. Neuhaus's books, you'll know what I'm talking about: There is no hand-holding, no reassurance, no "it'll be okay." The only consolation the author offers us is the truth: facing death is scary, even for the faithful. Its normal, and you can deal with it.
Father describes his bewilderment, his helplessness, and his embarrassment, in a matter-of-fact way: don't read this book expecting to hear the violins which so often accompany the telling of near-death experiences. The only truly honest reflection on this matter I've ever read.
Father describes his bewilderment, his helplessness, and his embarrassment, in a matter-of-fact way: don't read this book expecting to hear the violins which so often accompany the telling of near-death experiences. The only truly honest reflection on this matter I've ever read.
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