Transitus: A Blessed Death in the Modern World
Select Book Reviews

“…[Transitus is] a profound meditation on one of the greatest gifts a human being can give to another – the possibility of a blessed death. This is a wise and radiant book like no other, integrating contemplative prayer with clinical practice, medieval history with personal memoir, the sublime with the ruefully practical. Everyone who cares about the soul of medicine should read it…”
—Barbara Newman, Professor of English and Religion, Northwestern University

“…Therese Schroeder-Sheker’s monograph on music-thanatology shows that people can die whole and in peace…. There is no more important contribution than this in the world of healthcare…”
—Barbara Montgomery Dossey, PhD and author of Florence Nightingale: Mystic, Visionary, Healer

“…Music-thanatology as embodied in the Chalice of Repose Project exemplifies practical theology at its best in its care for the suffering and dying. We are all indebted to Dean Schroeder-Sheker for providing this window into these practices and telling the story of their development in the care of the dying. Transitus: A Blessed Death in the Modern World is a blessing to us all…”
—Keith Meador, MD, Professor of the Practice of Pastoral Theology and Medicine and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University

“…Therese Schroeder-Sheker shows how the work of one woman’s soul is sufficient to feed a multitude starved for mercy…”
—David Applebaum

“…Rarely has there been a work of such originality and usefulness. The writing is limitless, the concepts are profound…”
—Jean Houston

“…a glimpse into the soul of what all of us as clinicians should strive to be – servant contemplatives in a world of chaos…”
—Gerard S. Brungardt MD

“…I am smitten by this beautifully written monograph… She has restored a spiritual component to healing…”
—Larry Dossey MD

“…Birth and death, the two moments that shape our lives, are too important to be treated as crass commodities or dirty secrets. The growing desire for a death with meaning and dignity has encouraged the emergence of a field of palliative medicine aptly called music-thanatology. The historical roots of music-thanatology in medieval monastic rituals, as well as its medical and spiritual significance for today, are beautifully set forth in Therese Schroeder-Sheker’s Transitus: A Blessed Death in the Modern World. [Therese Schroeder-Sheker’s…] experience as academic dean of the School of Music-Thanatology of the Chalice of Repose Project… gives her a breath of knowledge in the field second to none. Transitus is a book that will instruct and inspire anyone who has ever pondered the mystery of dying…”
—Bernard McGinn, Naomi Shenstone Donnelley Professor of Religion, Divinity School, University of Chicago

“Anyone who wants to learn what it means to be human can begin here!…”
—Christopher Bamford

“…an original an immensely valuable book… The distinctive voice of its author invites us to see the world and ourselves differently, our dimensions intertwined, not artificially separated. What a promising and exhilarating way to meet and exalt the experience that is death…”
—Regina Psaki, Giustina Family Professor of Italian Language and Literature, University of Oregon

“…Any harpist and indeed any musician will find Transitus to be a provocative and inspiring guide…”
—Lou Anne Neill, Los Angeles Philharmonic

“…Peace and Divine Presence shine in every word of Transitus, an eminently practical, poetic and revolutionary book about prescriptive music and the dying process…”
—Joan Borysenko

“…a hallmark in clinical and spiritual integrity…”
—Don Campbell

“…This book holds the key to educational renewal in all fields…”
—Robert Sardello

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