Glimpses of Heaven: True Stories of Hope and Peace at the End of Life's Journey »

Trudy Harris, RN, was a Hospice nurse and president of the Hospice Foundation for Caring. Taking on additional roles in marketing, public relations, and fundraising, Harris raised more than $45 million in capital contributions for HFC. She is now retired and lives in Jacksonville, Florida, with her husband.

EXCERPT FROM CATALOG

"Who is the man standing by the lake?" Grandfather asked, pointing out of the window. "That's the weeping willow tree," I said to him. "I see the tree," he answered with a smile. "I mean the man who is standing underneath the tree, by the water? Who is he?" I looked but saw no one standing near the tree. That night while putting my youngest son, Ken, to bed, I told him what Grandfather had said. "Do you think he saw Jesus?" he asked. "I don't know," I replied. Later in the evening as we were preparing Grandfather for bed I relayed my conversation to Grandfather. "Ken wants to know if you saw Jesus under the tree tonight." "Yes, dear. Why?" he replied. He answered in that same sure, confident and matter-of-fact way that I have come to recognize and accept in people who are about to die. They seem to have spiritual eyes and ears, understanding things that we do not and having no fear of sharing them with us. Grandfather died that night, sitting in the recliner, overlooking the lake where he had seen Jesus, with family members taking turns by his side. When he took his last breath, and we realized it was his last, his wife, son, daughter, and I all found it comforting for some reason to pile into the king size bed next to his chair and fall asleep. It was three in the morning. I mention the time of his death only because when we called his nurse, Dottie, at seven in the morning, she said, "George died at three this morning, didn't he?" When we asked how she knew, she relayed her experience of waking up at three a.m. and hearing a voice say, "I've come for my servant George." In the early days I only smiled at such things, not really believing them. It took me thirty years of caring for dying people to know that those happenings are as real as anything you will ever experience in life.

Publishers Weekly

As a hospice nurse and the former president of the Hospice Foundation for Caring, Harris has seen more than her share of death. In this collection of 44 real-life stories, she shares her own journeys with patients in their final days with an eye not only to what the dying experience, but what those last days, weeks and months may teach those of us who walk with them. Regardless of our lifelong faith, or lack thereof, Harris believes, most dying people come to experience God's unconditional love and his desire to welcome us home, a point illustrated by the book's stories. Many of the shorter two- or three-page stories lack enough detail or new information to be thought provoking or spiritually nurturing, but Harris's longer anecdotes, like those about her grandparents, are deeply touching and encouraging. Those attending a dying person will find examples of ways they may listen to and be helpful to them. Those who wonder about what their own journey toward death may be like will find in these stories a demystification of the last days of life on earth and future glimpses of heaven that offer comfort and hope. (Apr.)

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Foreword     13
Acknowledgments     15
Introduction     17
"Martin said it's time to go"   Daddy     21
"Why did God let me live longer than the doctors said I would?"   Mary Anne     27
"Who is the man standing down by the water?"   Grandfather     32
"My son is here with me now; he said it's time to go"   Frank     38
"You know I love you so much"   Brian     40
"I'm going to go now; bye-bye"   Gloria     44
"You mean I don't have to stay, Peter?"   Joshua     47
"There's an angel who comes and stands by my bed"   Lenora     50
"I know where I'm going, and I'm not afraid to die"   Gene     52
"Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground"   Elliott     55
"I want to have everything in order; will you help me?"   Steven     58
"Pray with me again, honey"   Robert     61
"I can see the tapestry of my life"   Jack     64
"There it is. I can see it. It's beautiful"   Mark     68
"I have never known my mother to have such peace and calm"   Marian     71
"Will you let me know whenit's my time to go?"   Lennie     74
"Do you know how much God loves you?"   Jackson     77
"You didn't tell me, did you? How did you keep it a secret?"   Hank     79
"I can't die until I see Walter"   Merideth     82
"My wife always wanted me to go to church with her, but I didn't. Just stubborn, I guess"   Ralph     84
"Soon you will be with Jesus in heaven"   Carl     88
"He doesn't look like Daddy anymore"   Louis     91
"You'll come to me when it's my time; I'll depend on you"   Delia     95
"The kingdom of God is at hand"   Kathleen     98
"Love must be like this, and it must be good"   Robin     100
"I have my peace now, Trudy"   Tim     105
"I think he sees Jesus"   Jess     111
"But suppose I just don't believe in Him, what then?"   Johnny     114
"I want to see every pretty thing in my new home"   Margaret     118
"I always hoped I would see you one more time before I died"   Katy     122
"He knows, he knows"   Zach     125
"Is it true that only Catholics can pray with Catholics?"   Eileen      127
"Can you stop by for a cup of coffee this morning?"   William     130
"Every year in February one yellow rose blooms"   Lorrain     136
"This is where God really lives"   Joel     138
"He looked at her with about as much love as I have ever seen in one man's eyes"   Sam     141
"Oh, ma mere"   Madeleine     143
"OK, I'm going, don't rush me"   Hannah     148
"If I saw Jesus like you did, would I cry too?"   Frederick     151
"Large tears were flowing gently from his closed eyes"   Ira     155
"George, do you know a priest who will come to see me?"   Aunt Helen     159
"What would you think if I told you that God has chosen to heal my soul and my spirit but not my body?"   Diane     163
"The tail boat is here"   Grandmother     169
"George, take me to John now, please"   Mommy     179
Conclusion     189