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DAN HAYS
Statesman Journal
July 21, 2002
... Also of interest
Excerpted from an article which covered three other books... See the entire article at: http://news.statesmanjournal.com/article.cfm?i=45469

Some books are, quite simply, necessities.
"Urgent Whispers: Care of the Dying" is one of them.

American culture tends to attempt to deny death. We hold it at bay by making it part of mass entertainment, by attempting to trivialize it as a metaphor in thought and speech. But death not only is the ultimate fate of all of us, it also is something most of us have to deal with in others.

And who is truly prepared to care for the dying, to sit with and comfort those about to discover the ultimate secret?

Sapienza has spent his life dealing with his own serious health problems, losing loved ones and friends along the way. Highly educated and obviously intensely compassionate, Sapienza devoted himself to the writing and publication of this little book. A little book that offers wisdom, comfort, information and true hope.

In plain language, "Urgent Whispers" helps the caregiver discover personal truths. Then it imparts facts about the dying and how to speak with them, how to help them, how to be with them, how to care for them in every sense of the word.

It may be read or used in a more active way. The left-hand page of most of the book is a series of questions to be answered by the caregiver, with space for the answers to be written in. That is why there is a spiral-bound version — it lies flat on the desk and allows users to write in their answers.

The "advice from the dying" on the right-hand pages is straight from the heart. As in:

  • Please commit to remember me. Share me. Become my essence for someone who did not know me.
    and
  • Be comfortable while you’re with me. Don’t make yourself uncomfortable doing what you cannot do.

  • Some of us need this book now. Some of us need to admit that someday, perhaps very soon, we will need it. But all of us need it.

    It may be hard to find. Be persistent. Jackson’s Books and Rosebud & Fish carry it in Salem.

    Dan Hays regularly reviews books for the Statesman Journal. Write Hays in care of The Statesman Journal, P.O. Box 13009, Salem OR 97309-3009.
    URGENT WHISPERS:
    Care of the Dying


    Author: Jerral Sapienza

    Publisher: LLX Press; Eugene, OR; 152 pages

    Format: Mass Market Paperback:
      ISBN 0-9717107-0-8
    Coil Bound Spiral:
      ISBN 0-9717107-5-9

    Cost: $14.95

    Available: At Rosebud & Fish, Jackson’s Books, Borders, others

    Author Appearance: Author Jerral Sapienza will appear at Salem Public Library on Saturday September 7th, 585 Liberty St. SE   503.588-6315.   Free.   He will speak with patrons and sign copies of his books. Phone (541) 343-1202 for more information.