Gifts of Passage: What the Dying Tell Us with the Gifts They Leave Behind

by Amy Hollingsworth

Book Overview

Not all gifts are tangible. After suffering the loss of her father while writing her bestselling debut book, Amy Hollingsworth began to search for the meaning behind his dying moments. What she found was a simple truth at the heart of overcoming the deepest grief: the dying leave gifts. With deeply moving stories of how others discovered the gifts their loved ones left behind, this book will gently encourage you to anticipate and uncover your own...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0849919207
• ISBN13: 9780849919206
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Length: 179 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

excellent read if you are struggling with loss of loved one

A well written account by Amy Hollingsworth. She fills in the answers to so many questions when dealing with loss of a loved one. This book helped me move toward acceptance and go on in peace with my life.

The Gifts of Passage

Ronald D. Willard CMSgt USAF, Ret. 130 Kenwood Avenue Boerne, Texas 78006-2716 830-249-9855 Chiefrw@gvtc.com 24 July 2008 Subject: Book Review: Gifts of Passage by Amy Hollingsworth "How a life ends is important, even if for just a moment the person feels loved and cared for, connected." This is a quote from chapter 8, The Last Thing, page 58 in Amy Hollingsworth, priceless, book--- The Gifts of Passage. The above quote, in my opinion, is the central theme of The Gifts of Passage. I first learned of The Gifts of Passage when I completed reading Ms. Hollingsworth book The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers. Amy's web page announced her second book; The Gifts of Passage was available in book stores. Almost from the beginning of reading The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers I discovered I really enjoyed Amy's style of writing; It made me feel comfortable and relaxed and eager to continue reading (and at 73 years of age, feeling comfortable and relaxed is a priority of mine). Having been "hooked" on Ms. Hollingsworth's writing style, I couldn't wait to purchase her latest book The Gifts of Passage. At the very top of page 4 in The Gifts of Passage Amy writes: "That was the best way I knew how to describe it; my father has given me a gift of passage, a gift that marked his passage. Now I had something to call it, even if I didn't yet know what it meant." Immediately following that last sentence above, under the sub title of Two Legends Amy writes of two legends, one from the book Where The Red Fern Grows and the other from the Chinese concerning an invisible red tread (page 5). Just five pages into the book and she (Amy) writes: "The Chinese believe that an invisible red thread binds those who are destined to be together." Almost instantly after reading that sentence (above), it reminded me of the concluding two chapters of The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers. DIFFICULT TIMES is the title of chapter 8. In that chapter Amy writes of The Nature Of Loss, The Gift of Allowing Others To Grieve, In Loss An Overshadowing Presence, and Love: Stronger Than Anything. If you read The Gifts of Passage you will discover Amy uses similar words and phrases, as those above, Chapter 9 is titled; HEADING TOWARD HEAVEN. It is in that last chapter (9) that Amy introduces us to her beloved father. To me, that's when I discovered where the invisible red thread, which Amy wrote about on page 5 of The Gifts of Passage it started its binding process. As Ms. Hollingsworth continued to write The Gifts of Passage, like a highly trained and experience brain surgeon, she skillfully and carefully stitched her stories together with that invisible red thread. I read The Gifts of Passage twice. Each time I read that book, I was so thankful I first read Amy's book The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers. To me, The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers is a prologue to The Gifts of Passage. Many years ago I read in one of my wife's cooking magazines that at the dinner table if

A remarkable meditation on relationships, faith, and dying

In "Gifts of Passage," Amy Hollingsworth has done a beautiful job of talking about the gifts the dying leave us in the form of life lessons, final gestures, and other gifts we might have a harder time recognizing. Her observations will resonate with anyone who has lost a loved one, and you'll likely see a bit of yourself in her and in the vivid personalities she describes throughout the book. Hollingsworth mentions that if you're supposed to be with someone when they die, it seems to have a way of working itself out; she cites hospice workers who talk about people literally delaying their own deaths until a relative can arrive. Other times, someone will keep vigil for days at the bedside of a loved one, only to have them slip away in the brief span when the person goes out to stretch their legs or get a cup of coffee. It gave me an insight into why my stepfather had died alone, which I found very comforting, even 20 years after it happened. "Gifts of Passage" is personal without ever seeming like an excersize in self-therapy. Amy Hollingsworth talks about her own insecurities and difficulties in her relationship with her father, but never in a way that seems over the top. Her writing reminds me very much of Henri J.M. Nouwen's in its vulerability, its depth, and in her ability to describe people in a vivid and three-dimensional manner. I was deeply touched by her previous book, "The Simple Faith of Mr. Rogers," detailing her friendship with Fred Rogers in the last years of his life. "Gifts of Passage" is equally touching, and even more personal.

Gifts of Passage by Amy Hollingsworth

Many times after I've lost a loved one, I sensed that others just didn't quite know what to say. It seems that we live in such a busy society that death is briefly acknowledged, but rarely discussed or understood. I remember reading that our parents and grandparent's generations allowed and expected more time to the grieving process. In our society where death and dying are often shoved under the rug and not discussed, I found this to be a very uplifting and informative book. It helped me to recall many wonderful gifts of passage that I have been given by loved ones who have passed. I believe it would make a wonderful gift for anyone who has lost a loved one, for church groups,and for grief support groups. Mary Nix

This book will move you

Gifts of Passage is a transparent and heart rendering journey through the process of grief. This book is not only for those mourning but for everyone who will experience the death of a loved one. It is insightful and thought provoking and enlightens us to other sometimes unseen events that occur during the dying process - they are the gifts left behind. I was especially moved by the "flying trapeze" section which shattered my own notions of living life to its fullest! Hollingsworth has laid open her own soul in this book to help others foresee and expect or to go back and find the gifts left behind. Highly recommended - unlike any other book I've ever read, this book will move you.