Exit, Stage Left: Lessons in the art of dying

While many of us avoid planning for, contemplating, and even mentioning death, Exit Stage Left: lessons in the art of dying sweeps aside the taboo and allows readers to approach their own inevitable end with a sense of curiosity and agency.

From the author’s perspective as a patient, a loved one of someone who was fatally ill, and a hospice volunteer for people at the end-of-life, Kingstone examines how the Western custom of denying death's existence fails to prepare us when it inevitably comes. These pieces run from poignant to playful to probing, sometimes in a single essay.

An astute observer of human behavior, Kingstone is analytical in some moments and darkly humorous in others. Having faced this fear herself, she is the perfect companion for this journey into the dark. She dives in where others are squeamish, showing how a full-frontal look at the finale can be liberating, motivating readers to live the days they have left with purpose and plan for an elegant departure.