* Brilliantly perceptive introduction to each poem * Explores many of the different emotions that may arise in the face of death and our attempts to make meaning of it

* Offers encouragement to Christians who feel guilty about being fearful of death * Includes humour as well as sadness, and hope as well as bitterness

* Helpful at periods of personal crisis, though not solely addressed to these times

It is frequently said that our culture is unwilling to talk about death, but actually poets ancient and modern, Christian and non-Christian, do probe aspects of our mortality in a great deal of depth and detail. Rather than being morbid, it is realistic to face the fact that our time on earth is limited, and that we will all need to deal with bereavement.

Most of us discover that we achieve an important new perspective on the whole of life when someone dies, and that accompanying the dying can be inspiring as well as exhausting. Our Last Awakening encourages us to retain this heightened awareness and insight, even when we find ourselves, once again, absorbed in the pressures of everyday life.