“Joy, tranquility, truth”: Brianne Bilyeu on “Comforting Thoughts About Death That Have Nothing to Do with God”

“@GretaChristina new book transcends merely “enjoyable.” Joy, tranquility, truth – I feel these while reading it.”

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Got a nice Tweet about my new book, Comforting Thoughts About Death That Have Nothing to Do with God (now available in ebook), from Brianne Bilyeu of the Biodork blog. Thanks, Brianne!

The Kindle edition is available on Amazon (that’s the link for Amazon US, btw — it’s available in other regions as well); the Nook edition is available at Barnes & Noble; and the Smashwords edition is available on Smashwords. All ebook editions and formats cost just $2.99. (The audiobook version is scheduled for publication on December 30; plans for a print edition are in the works.)

Here’s the description of the book:

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If you don’t believe in God or an afterlife — how do you cope with death?

Accepting death is never easy. But we don’t need religion to find peace, comfort, and solace in the face of death. In this mini-book collection of essays, prominent atheist author Greta Christina offers secular ways to handle your own mortality and the death of those you love.

Blending intensely personal experience with compassionate, down-to-earth wisdom, Christina (“Coming Out Atheist” and “Why Are You Atheists So Angry?”) explores a variety of natural philosophies of death. She shows how reality can be more comforting than illusion, shatters the myth that there are no atheists in foxholes — and tells how humanism got her through one of the grimmest times of her life.

“In this book Greta Christina tackles the subject of death with the insight of a philosopher and the relaxed candor of a friend — that really cool, intelligent friend who understands and cares.”
-David Niose, author of Fighting Back the Right: Reclaiming America from the Attack on Reason

“Required reading for anyone alive. Greta Christina’s clear, bold, gentle and endlessly thought-provoking writing style constantly reminds me why I love her. She provides elegant proof that the even the hardest truths can be as beautiful, wonderful and uplifting as any other facet of our existence.”
-David Fitzgerald, author of Nailed and The Complete Heretic’s Guide to Western Religion

“When I was very young, I lost someone close to me in a car accident. Almost more painful than the loss was the way by which those around me attempted to find meaning in the senseless death of a young person. This is the book that seven-year-old me needed instead of the endless religious tracts that assured me that everything happens for a reason.”
-Heina Dadabhoy, Heinous Dealings blog

“Reading this book felt like one of those moments, standing in a dark and silent room, when glass powder strikes red phosphorous and turns a little of it into white phosphorous, which causes a match to light up in a warming flame. I want to show it (the book, not the match) to all my friends who are dealing with death, which is of course all of my friends. Thank you for writing it!”
-Greg M. Epstein, Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University

“Bravo, Greta Christina. Your book is a feat of logic, wisdom, compassion, insight, humor, and lived experience presented in the most accessible way. Your ideas are compelling and I wish your words could be made available in hotel rooms everywhere, tucked into the drawer of the nightstand, in addition to hospital waiting rooms, train and bus stations, airports and classrooms. Death is certainly a Big Deal but humanism and non-belief have plenty of comfort to offer, as you so eloquently have put forth. In short, ‘What she said.'”
-Nina Hartley, author of Nina Hartley’s Guide to Total Sex

“Greta Christina continues to provide unique advice and information to the growing community of seculars. We all need to consider our mortality and learn positive and productive ways to deal with our inevitable deadline. Thanks for this little book of wisdom. Christina has written a handbook we can all use. But it should be in the hands of every hospital and military chaplain, every hospice care giver,even ministers, etc. No secular person should be subjected to supernatural ideas and wishful thinking when they are dealing with death, dying and grief.”
-Darrel Ray, founder, Recovering from Religion

“Atheism frees us to craft our own meaning for life, but we must still confront the specter of death. In this brief-yet-essential volume, Greta Christina presents an array of humanist perspectives that provide very real comfort and meaning in the face of death.”
-Neil Wehneman, Development Director, Secular Student Alliance

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“Joy, tranquility, truth”: Brianne Bilyeu on “Comforting Thoughts About Death That Have Nothing to Do with God”
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2 thoughts on ““Joy, tranquility, truth”: Brianne Bilyeu on “Comforting Thoughts About Death That Have Nothing to Do with God”

  1. 1

    I feel a little bit uncomfortable about the title of the book. I’m not sure if “Death” is actually something I want to have comforting thoughts about.
    Like if the title read “Comforting thoughts about slavery” it would feel really wrong, you know?
    But I haven’t read the book – I wonder if you adress this, or if you just blend out the “death is bad” meme.

  2. 2

    I feel a little bit uncomfortable about the title of the book. I’m not sure if “Death” is actually something I want to have comforting thoughts about.
    Like if the title read “Comforting thoughts about slavery” it would feel really wrong, you know?

    jundurg @ #1: Well, of course I can’t guarantee that you’ll like the book. What I can say is that there’s an entire chapter that explores what exactly I mean by “comfort.” Here, I’ll quote myself from that chapter:

    When I say that some particular view of death offers comfort, I don’t mean that it completely eradicates any pain or grief associated with death. Of course it doesn’t. Nothing does that — not even religion. (More on that in a moment.) When I say, “This view of death offers some comfort,” I’m not saying, “If you look at death this way, it will no longer trouble you. With this philosophy, you can view death blithely, even cheerfully. The death of the ones you love, and your own eventual death, will no longer suck even in the slightest.”
    That’s not what I mean by “comfort.”
    When I say, “This atheist philosophy of death offers comfort,” I mean, “This atheist philosophy can, to some extent, alleviate the suffering and grief caused by death. It can make the suffering and grief feel less overwhelming, less unbearable. It doesn’t make the pain disappear — but it can put the experience into a context that gives it some sort of meaning, and it can offer the hope that with time, the pain will diminish. It can give us a sense that there’s a bridge over the chasm; a feeling of trust that, when the worst of the grief passes, we’ll have a solid foundation to return to. It doesn’t make the grief or fear go away — but it can lighten the load.”

    Hope that helps you decide about the book.

    I’d also say that “Comforting thoughts about death” is in a very different category than “Comforting thoughts about slavery.” Some individual deaths are caused by people, but the ultimate fact of all of us being mortal is a natural and inevitable part of being alive. While some individual deaths are unjust, the fact that we are all mortal is not unjust. And death it’s a reality we ultimately have to accept. That is all most emphatically not true for slavery.

    (And I’ll add that the ebook is only $2.99. If you get it and decide you don’t like it, you’re out the cost of a latte.)

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