Staring at the Sun

Summer is a great time to make a dent in the pile of books that I want to read, but never get a chance to throughout the academic year. In June, I read Dr. Irvin Yalom's most recent book, "Staring at the Sun: Overcoming the Terror of Death." Yes, this is the type of book I read for fun. :-)

The book outlines Yalom's approach to the universal issue of mortality, which is especially salient for many of the older adults we see at the CU Aging Center. Yalom is a gifted psychotherapist and writer who uses accessible language and several case examples to illustrate his points. Here are a few of the ideas I found most interesting:

- There is a "positive correlation between fear of death and the sense of unlived life" (p. 49).

- An "awakening experience" (p. 36) can jerk us out of the everyday mode of life to an ontological mode where we are more mindful of being. These experiences might include grief over the loss of someone important, a major life milestone, a life-threatening illness, etc.

- "Rippling" (p. 83) refers to the concept that we all leave behind something from our life experience (e.g., a piece of wisdom, guidance, comfort) that passes on to others, known or unknown.

The last third of the book gives advice to therapists on how to address death anxiety with their clients, but any reader would likely appreciate Yalom's words.

Yalom, I. D. (2008). Staring at the sun: Overcoming the terror of death. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.