In the book, author, Jeremy Kagan shares his personal journey surrounding the day before his birthday—the day that he dies.
The story begins with Kagan participating in a Lakota sweat lodge ceremony. As he exits this indigenous American purification ritual, he falls to the ground losing all control of his body. Kagan recounts the stages of this dying, weaving the past and present into one: his struggle for success as a Hollywood director in the unpredictable and fickle movie-making industry and his quest for spiritual awareness from Kabballah to Sexual Quodoshka, from the Taro to psychotropics. Kagan interlaces his personal history and his intimate knowledge of spiritual practices into a telling portrait.
My Death is a richly written and illustrated memoir that teaches us how to be present and honest; how to cultivate skills to "let go" rather than fixate on what is uncontrollable and impermanent. This is the journey of a seeker, and its rewards are insights into how we can all deal with the inevitable.
Review of “My Death: A Personal Guidebook”
By Reverend Shirley Bowman, Minister at Unity of Murfreesboro (2013)
"As a former hospice nurse, and now as an Ordained Minister, I’ve had many interactions with death and dying. These interactions have naturally increased my innate curiosity about what happens to us when we die, so over the years I’ve read many stories and books about near-death experiences. I’ve discovered that although these stories have many similarities, each one is unique in some way. Jeremy’s story is no exception. What makes his story unique is not just the actual experience, which he shares with unabashed candor, but also his style of writing. He openly shares his thoughts and feelings throughout the experience in such a way that I was totally absorbed in the story. At times his candor startled me to the point where I felt embarrassed, as if I was inadvertently spying on someone at their most naked and vulnerable moments; at times I had to pause to look up a word in the dictionary (e.g. Coterminous: 1: having the same or coincident boundaries 2: coextensive in scope or duration)which drew my attention away from the story, but which also gave me time for reflection and introspection. Throughout the book I was fascinated.
The story begins in a sweat lodge. For me, it brought back memories of a similar experience. However, Jeremy’s description is so vivid that I think anyone reading it can relate to it even if they’ve never heard of a sweat lodge. He soon backtracks to the events that led up to this particular occasion, beginning with a Christmas party that he attended earlier in the day. As he shares his thoughts about the party and about his life in general, I found myself becoming more and more interested in him as a person. As the background of the story continued, I began to get a little impatient to read about the actual near-death experience (NDE), but by the time it came, I felt it was well worth the wait.
I think Jeremy gives the reader just enough of his personal history and just enough insight into his thoughts and feelings to allow the reader to develop empathy and compassion towards him. His description of the NDE itself was a bit unusual, in regard to the physical aspects of the story as well as the mental, emotional and spiritual aspects. His perceptions about life after death and life in the present are shared in an open and heart-warming way.
The book opened with a statement from Jeremy indicating the reason he shares his story is to ease the anxiety of a buddy whose greatest fear is of death and dying. I suspect he may have succeeded, not only in easing the anxiety of his friend, but for others who are fortunate enough to read the book as well.
The illustrations scattered throughout the book add a light-hearted touch of interest and entertainment to a potentially heavy subject.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read and review this wonderful book, and thanks to Jeremy Kagan for sharing his experience and his insights."
