A Couple Faces Death: My Life After Anne
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by Bill Nerin
Price: $17.95
Book Website: http://www.magicmountainpublishing.com
144 Pages, Paperback, 6 x 9
ISBN-10: 0-9646789-3-4
ISBN-13: 978-0-9646789-3-4
This is basically a love story as expressed in the final 10 months of Anne and Bill accepting and dealing with Anne's certain death from melanoma, and then Bill's grieving thereafter. It is in his journal entries shared with the reader that we experience his continued growth as a man dealing with not only the realities of his loss, but with new insights into his God, his not knowing, his willingness to live in his mystery with acceptance and peace. The table of contents reveals the various steps of fully living taken toward Anne's death as well the issues Bill faces in his life now without his Anne.
About The Author
Bill Nerin married Anne when he was 56 and she 52. Previously he was a single man having spent 24 years as a Catholic priest; in 1966 he was pastor of an experiential parish designed to develop the social conscience of the members. The bishop approved the experiment. It drew ssome Protestants and invalidly married Catholics. The bishop died and his successor forbade Bill from giving the Eucharistic meal to them. The entire community and Bill resigned in 1975.
In 1965 he graduated from Teachers College, Columbia University with an M.A. in Family Life. He became a licensed Marriage and Family therapist; one of his chief mentors was Virginia Satir, a pioneer of Family Therapy in the '50s. He has written two books on an ingenious process she developed, called Family Reconstruction, one in 1986 and the other in 1993 (both books can be seen on his website). Since 1978 he has been an Adjunct Assistant Professor in Human Relations at the University of Oklahoma.
In 1977, he met Anne Robertson, also an associate of Satir, and they were married in 1982. He moved to her home in Tiburon CA in '82 and in 1990 they moved to Gig Harbor WA where Bill still lives.
Reviews
"When I began reading Bill Nerin's book, I expected a chronicle about “how to” prepare for the death of a loved one and the grief that follows. Instead, I found a beautifully written love story. Through narrative, reflection and his journals, Bill Nerin takes us on a journey of a true life love story of tenderness, companionship and loss.
“Lying awake, my body embracing the body of Anne, warm, breathing, asleep. How many nights will I be able to snuggle her, be one with her not only spiritually, but also physically. She is slowly dying of her cancer. How many days do I have with her this way?”
This book is worth reading not only for Nerin’s practical wisdom and experience on dying and grief, but also for the compelling story."
- Linda Norlander R.N., MS, author of three books on end of life issues, Manager of Group Health Hospice, Tacoma WA, 2001 Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellow.
"As a Clinical Instructor at the University of Washington School of Nursing, I believe this book is exceptional in grief literature - telling both the story about facing death and the life after the death of a loved one."
- Gerri Haynes R.N.
"Nerin's anguished reflections is a path from despair to a new and mature way to trust. His journey transforms the reader to see life and death from a totally new perspective.
-Richard Sneed S.T.D., Chancellor Emeritus South Orange County Community College District, CA
"Part I is a beautiful love story. In telling it, it becomes clear to anyone experiencing end of life (both dying person and loved ones), how blessed and enriching this time can be."
"Part II is incredible. Bill Nerin's honesty in the sharing of his most intimate thoughts shows so clearly that acceptance doesn't necessarily diminish grief; and grief hurts terribly. But it can open one's heart to the sometimes painful examination of long held beliefs and ways of thinking. He describes not only the spiritual and emotional aspect of grief, but also the physical - how there were times he could barely muster the strength to move. People need to hear this. This book would benefit anyone who is human and has experienced loss of any kind."
- Barbara Cooney, R.N. Hospice Nurse
"Bill offers hope for the survivor and challenges us all to live each day to the fullest with those we love in gratitude for all we're given."
-Janet Robinson Phd R.N., Vice President for Academic Affairs, Lourdes College, Sylvania Ohio
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