Tuesday 29 January 2019

Spiritual Care book

For those of you who are interested in and enjoy my writing, I just wanted to flag up the now limited availability of a book of mine going out of print (I've linked the image to Amazon UK, where you can read what reviewers say, though there's no Look-Inside for this book).



There are two reasons you might want to read it.

Firstly, it's very useful if you are in any kind of Christian ministry. It's a practical guide to, and exploration of, what it says on the front — spiritual care of dying and bereaved people, looking at various different facets of loss including other reasons than death (eg job redundancy, loss of integrity, divorce, etc). It also includes a chapter in which I've given detailed advice for the officiant at a funeral. I've given templates for funeral prayers and committals covering the different religious backgrounds (atheist, agnostic, New Age and low-key Christian) that you may have to work with because they have no obvious designated officiant of their own.

Sometimes people write to me saying how helpful they have found it, especially if they become involved in hospice chaplaincy.

Secondly, you might want to read it if you are curious about me as a person, because it has more autobiographical detail in it than anything else I've written anywhere.

The publisher contacted me the other day to say sales have slowed so they are now letting it go out of print. They have 84 copies left, which they are selling off in the next few weeks, after which any left over will just be trashed I suppose.

The publisher only made paperback copies, not e-books, and currently does not offer it on print-on-demand, so once it's gone, it's gone.

I guess from time to time second-hand copies will be around, but I have no copies myself and I don't think a huge amount were ever printed — it's a bit of a specialist book.

So I'm just letting you know, because I do think it's worth reading, especially seeing as we all die at some point and so does everyone else we know.

I hope you don't mind the publicity: I usually prefer to stick to conversation and thinking here, but once in a while . . . This is not me making money, because even if they sell every copy they still have in stock, it won't take it past the (small) royalty advance they paid me. This book just didn't sell very well, but the people who read it were glad they did.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Have already purchased this book, intend to do a re-read now! Mairin.

Pen Wilcock said...

Thank you for being one of the people who bought it, Mairin! x

Anonymous said...

Hi Penelope,

What a shame, I hope it becomes available in some way again. I let my friend the hospice and bereavement worker know about it, and I will try to get a copy for myself. I've always felt written work should stay available. It's hard to think about it not being so.
DMW

Pen Wilcock said...

Well, I think things have their seasons. Thank you for alerting your friend, and for buying a copy if you can. x

Sandy said...

Long time reader here!! Thank you so much for letting us know. I ordered a copy. My beloved grandmother is dying. She has been put on hospice, stopped eating and is now bedridden. I'm going to see her this weekend for what I think will be the last time. (We live 8 hours apart here in Texas, so I don't get to visit as often as I'd like.) My family also found out that my first cousin (the oldest grandchild of my dying grandmother, actually) is dying of ALS. So there are a lot of emotions and sadness among my family members right now. I could use some guidance and perspective navigating the days ahead. God bless you, Pen!

Sandy from Texas

Pen Wilcock said...

Oh, my goodness, Sandy! What profound territory to find yourself in. As you take the way life is offering you, may you find its treasures. I will hold you and your grandmother and your cousin in my prayers. The threshold of death can be a place of real blessing, and I pray that it will be so for you and your family as you keep company with these dear ones setting out on their Great Journey. xx

Elizabeth @ The Garden Window said...

I bought my copy a while ago and it has been read cover to cover several times. A very valuable book, beautifully and bravely written, and has a permanent place on my To Keep bookcase.

Have you read Dr Kathryn Mannix's "With The End in Mind"? An excellent book, looking from a doctor's perspective, but does touch on some faith issues relating to palliative care.

Pen Wilcock said...

Ah, yes — I read that book recently, and was very intrigued by it. Very much a medical professional's perspective, as you say, but a reflective and well-observed, finely-drawn piece.

Pen Wilcock said...

Sandy — thank you for the letter you sent via a comment here. In order to read it all I had to publish it, otherwise I only see the first few lines; but I copied it to paste elsewhere, so I could then immediately delete it here, because I think you did not intend it to be publicly shared.
Thank you so much for writing to me and telling me about your family experience with Papa John. I will continue to hold you and him (and your cousin) in my prayers. xx

Anonymous said...

I found this book tremendously helpful, Pen, and recommended it to others.

- Philippa

Pen Wilcock said...

And reviewed it on Amazon — for which, thank you so much! xx

Sandy said...

Oh good, I'm so glad you were able to read the whole letter. Thanks for taking the time to read it and for your prayers! : )

-Sandy

Pen Wilcock said...

:0)

I also got (and deleted) your comment that followed this one, Sandy, saying that you weren't sure if this went through. It's sometimes really hard to tell if it took or not, isn't it? Sometimes when I'm commenting on friends' blogs, I look after a day or two and see my comment doesn't show — and then I can't tell if (like mine) their comments don't publish automatically and they just haven't checked the notifications hidden inside the blog on its own special page, or if the comment just disappeared into the ether and can't be found, or what . . .

Sandy said...

Yes, sometimes I just cannot tell! And usually I have to check a box saying that I'm not a robot in order to publish a comment and for my first comment to you the robot option didn't work and I had to re-sign in to Google, and so I got a case of the "just in cases" and sent another comment. I figured it was better to just be sure and you get two comments from me then none at all! Haha....

Pen Wilcock said...

Thank you for making sure! xx

Julie B. said...

I own a copy of this book already, but thought I'd better get one of the last ones to have on hand to give to a friend when needed. It arrived yesterday and I think I'll read it again. God bless your week, dear Ember. xoxo

Pen Wilcock said...

Thank you, my friend! I asked for the rights back, and the publisher has gone very silent. Perhaps they are startled by this sudden sales boost!!