“Life is a rehearsal of death” was a strong belief of 18th century Methodists within the Church of England. Now, in the 21st century, is this still a common conviction? Do we really want to be rehearsing our deaths each day we live? What’s the value in doing daily meditations on our inevitable death?
Answers to such questions are offered in “The Lost Art of Dying- Reviving Forgotten Wisdom” by Lydia Dugdale MD. Inspired by an ancient Medieval text, Ars Moriendi -The Art of Dying, written in the wake of the Black Plague, Dr. Dugdale masterfully revives the precepts of this ancient text in a modern day context. Centering the death experience within historically medical, sociological and theological contexts, Dr. Dugdale illuminates how we have come from—and often strayed from—realizing the profound value in the art of dying.
Wisdom found main themes—fear of finitude, realities of an aging body from a medical viewpoint, value in community, sacred ritual at the end of life, etc—help create a life script for our final act. Unlike other books written on death, this one draws on history and scholarly writers. It sheds light on such themes as the medicalization of death, and treatment of pre-death illness, too often “filled with a language of warfare.” Learning how and why things came to be from a plethora of historical viewpoints enriches our lives’ scripts. From the bubonic plague to wars to the COVID pandemic there is always a “frantic desire for life that thrives in the heart of every great calamity.” Sharing heartfelt personal stories from family life and a career of caring for patients, many at the threshold, Dr. Dugdale humbly reminds us to contemplate, meditate, and breathe well until your last breath. Ending with a beautiful gallery of art that illustrates the book’s themes, gives us a solid visual memory (for those with sight) that there is an art both to living well and dying well.
Check this book out at your local Lake County Library, and/or purchase it in bookstores or online. Also, read more about the book at
Until the book ends,
Esther Suarez
Lake County Hospice Volunteer