Much like the author, our first encounter with death is typically through folktales and sugarcoated bedtime stories about the golden gates of Heaven, often shrouding the despondency surrounding it. The matter of mortality has often been courted by writers, poets, medical professionals, philosophers and men of religion. While each has tried to provide answers to death in tandem with their school of belief, George Paul takes a different approach in his book, Riding The Pale Horse: The Inevitable End to the Journey of Life where he does not seek to provide definitive answers but to prepare us for the inevitable.
Riding The Pale Horse: The Inevitable End to the Journey of Life is a heartwarming hug by its author in the form of a book. Through 16 chapters, he explores the concept of eternal rest from various angles: the process of dying, diverse cultural perspectives, and even legal considerations surrounding end-of-life decisions. Consisting of a generous sprinkling of real-life stories- from a grandfather's playful quip about kicking the bucket on Christmas Eve to a mother's tender grieving for her infant son. Narrated in a conversational and lucid tone, the book can be read by anyone interested in the subject. Through his exploration of death, Paul reveals a profound love for humanity, through touching accounts of deathbed humour, and testaments to the enduring human spirit even in the face of mortality. He also delves into the rich tapestry of death rituals across cultures, celebrating the diverse ways communities honour and remember their loved ones.
In a lot of ways, death is treated as taboo, unspoken of and when the time comes, most of us are quite unprepared to deal with it. From the right place to die and the ethics of life extension to organ donation, navigating difficult conversations, and the importance of palliative care, the book is a preparation for one of life’s most important and obscure events.
Paul gives a medical man’s view of death, from the operating room. He combines his medical expertise with a deep understanding of the human condition to guide us through the final frontier. Riding The Pale Horse: The Inevitable End to the Journey of Life is about confronting our mortality with honesty, knowledge, and perhaps even a touch of grace.
Title: Riding the Pale Horse: The Inevitable end to the journey of life
Author: George Paul
Publisher: Notion Press
Pages: 260
Price: 360
