Title: Rest Easy: A Life’s Journey to the Last Day
Author: Terrence White
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN: 978-1-6641-2601-5
Pages: 132
Genre: Memoir/Advice/Informational
Reviewed by: CC Thomas
Pacific Book Review
What if you knew the exact time and date of your death? Would that change how you lived from day to day? If that question caused you pause and some serious reflection, then Terrence White’s work Rest Easy: A Life’s Journey to the Last Day is a book you need to read right now, before any more time slips away. As a member of the funeral business for most of his adult life, White’s focus is both on the living of your days…and the planning of your last day on Earth. After all, he reasons, we prepare for other meaningless circumstances, like the color of our shower curtain, but not our own funeral.
Most people avoid the thought of their own demise, but White urges readers to think seriously about the topic. He understands this avoidance because he also did the same
thing, until the death of his father and his own heart attack at a young age put things into sharper perspective. Because of what White endured, he better understood how his own eventual death should be prepared for, rather than left as a burden for his loved ones. Planning for your last days means that no one has to worry about it when they least want to. White even includes an obituary template. You might be thinking such a thing sounds morbid, as I initially did, but then you realize how responsible and caring such an act is.
White’s advice, though, isn’t focused on death. Rather, the focus is on our life. Consider each day to be our last and, with that in mind, make every moment count. Reach out to family and loved ones. Ask them questions. Think about what people who know you might say about you when you’re gone and then work to make those memories and conversations ones of joy and celebration. After all, according to White, “Funerals are a celebration of life.”
Throughout, White discloses realities of the funeral business that are downright fascinating. He shares anecdotes about the inner workings of funeral parlors, as well as both funny and sweet stories about humans and pets. This reinforces the reminder that there are actual people working behind the scene to help us in our grieving process. While a funeral might seem like a well-rehearsed show, a lot of human effort goes into each detail.
Furthermore, White reminds us of the humbleness of the task of preparing for the “actual event” and the importance of keeping up with modernization. While death might not have changed for millennia, the business of death has, including cremation and Interment options, changes in venue, the process of preparing the scattering the last ashes, and new developments, such as the creation of jewelry from loved one’s remains.
If someone had told me that one of the most interesting books I would read this year would be one about funeral planning, I would have scoffed at such a claim. And, yet, Terrence White’s work Rest Easy easily sits at the top of my list. White’s work won’t cause you to focus on death; rather, it will force you to be more aware of your present moments. When you do that, you realize how very precious each one is and you spend more effort into making them memorable.
