Comforting Thoughts About Death That Have Nothing to Do with God: 7 Paperback – September 1, 2015

i have actually read this book twicethe first time was in october after the loss of a close friendthe other was recently as i face serious health problems and ponder my own mortalityin both cases, the insight that greta christina offers in this book have brought me a great deal of comfort and strengthens my own peacei'm not an atheist, but i found a great deal of peace in her writingsit comforts me to know that after i am gone, those that i love, and the causes that i care about and the beauty that i felt during my life will continue to be for whatever time they continuei can also fraw comfort from religious beliefs, but the difference is that with religion, that comfort is based on the premise that i am right in my beliefsbut the comfort that i can draw from humanist teachings comes from facts. it comes from things that i don't just believe, but that i actually knowreligion doesn't get to hold a patent on comfort, especially when its only basis is belief, while the comfort and peace that can be found is humanism is based on factif you are an atheist or other freethinker, if a theist can find inspiration in this book, so can youif you are a believer, you can also find it, just as i didi love that the author gave reference to grief beyond belief, which is a god-free organization to support nonbelievers as they go through the grieving processreading greta's writing is often like being told something that i had already thought, but was unaware that i had that thoughtit's like a personal dialogue that leaves one walking away feeling that they have been spoken to personallythat ability to express herself in a way that touches so personally is one of the reasons that greta is a leader in the atheist community and has a heroic status among many, including myself

I definitely appreciated the first half of the book slightly more than the second half. My situation is strange in that I experienced a lot of trauma in just 2-3 years that included my dad’s suicide, best friend’s fatal overdose, my spouse having an affair that eventually led to divorce - the list goes on. I’ve always been an atheist and wasn’t particularly scared of death until I met my current fiancée: I am so deeply happy with her that I’m suddenly terrified of my life ending - I want eternity with her. Anyway, I found the first half to be helpful in battling this fear. The second half, to me, presented as more of an argument for atheism over religion. It’s not a bad thing, but I already totally agreed with everything the author argued. And while it was an interesting second-half, it’s not really what I was looking for (and that’s not the author’s fault, I probably should have done more research). However, as I said, I found the first half to be extremely helpful. I do 100% recommend the book.

Have you ever read a book, or an essay or op-ed piece, on a subject of great importance to you and wondered, how did the author get inside my head, and what can I do (make her a cup of tea? Offer a foot rub?) to get her to stay? Greta Christina has done it again, this time, on a subject considered to be dicey territory for both those who are religion-free and religious believers.I would invite the latter to read the book, even though you may not consider yourself to be among its targeted audience, in hopes that you might gain at least a partial understanding of why the concerns and fears about death religionists attempt to foist upon the non-religious (yeah, not you, of course, but you've seen others of your mindset do it, right?) are...unappreciated, to put it mildly, and nonsensical upon rational examination.For fellow Brights, Freethinkers, Atheists, Agnostics and others who are religion-free: have you ever read the religious party line on death, and thought, "But no, there's ___! And what about ___ and ___ and ___?" Greta Christina collects all the but-nos and what-abouts, and more, organizing, distilling and presenting them in her usual droll, incisive, personal and compassionate way. It is a "light" read (I refer to tone, not intellectual content) for such a "heavy" subject, and a wonderful addition to the growing collection of books that affirm the logic, value and comfort of humanistic principles.

A much needed book, supporting all who are either not believers or have their doubts about an afterlife. Exposed me to a couple of comforting considerations I have never thought of before, although the author freely admits they are not her own. As a former believer who struggled with all the "cognitive dissonance" that my faith left me with, I appreciate the challenge and gratification of a life lived with no such dissonance and inner conflict any more. I'm grateful someone wrote this. It is a short, fast-read, and done in a light style (she even discusses the death of her cat for a while). Those who would like something more in depth and philosophically challenging might consider "The Denial of Death" by Earnest Becker.

It’s difficult to find secular support for grieving a death so stumbling across this book was a relief. I found it incredibly helpful for new ways of thinking about the end of life as a former-Christian. It’s a quick read and the end has a list of resources through which I found an amazing therapist and other community support.

Well done work, but very heavy on the atheist POV. I have no problem with the atheist part, but the issue of death is of interest to all of us who haven't died yet. I think even the faithful have doubts and so the insight offered does provide an important POV for both doubting faithful, agnoistis and atheists. I am not sorry I bought the book.

If I was involved in a disaster, and the first person to offer help said that they were doing so because of their religious beliefs; I would feel terribly conflicted. I would be grateful that someone was willing to help when I was unable to help myself, but a very elemental part of me would be silently screaming that they should stick their insulting help right up their ass.My perception of religious folk is that they ALL cannot refrain from insulting people for their non-belief. Religion is intolerant because that is its ‘raison d’ etre’, all religions began as a way of creating a “them “ and “us” situation.I am truly delighted to have heard about the existence of totally non-religious support groups. So many religious people actually prey upon others who find themselves in a vulnerable situation.

I haven't finished this book yet but what Ihave read I have found to be a refreshing approach to this topic. It is helpful to have alternative thoughts about how to confront death and dying; that is, examining and considering ideas different from those offered by traditional religious dogma and clergy. Practising aetheists, agnostics and theists, alike, will find this book one that both answers and provokes thought about questions, related to death, that people often have as death approaches or occurs in their lives.

An interesting read, which was almost the story of the tension between the red and blue corners. At times it made sense to believe that an atheist was the better position to be in but then suddenly many years of upbringing challenged that position, firmly, and it felt that it would then be wrong to be an atheist. I felt that being able to make the right choices for me, derived from my live and the current world, was the right thing to do and therefore I must be an atheist.

very well written and satisfying resource. clear concise and easy to read.

If you don't belive in God, this is very helpful.