Leaves Falling Gently

Accessible meditations, reflections, and advice for living life fully with a serious illness or helping loved ones navigate illnesses.

Dealing with chronic illness can be an isolating and challenging experience. Whether it’s you or someone you love, it’s common to struggle with feelings of fear, sadness, or anger as you navigate the uncertainty of your experience. The practices here help those facing illness, as well as their loved ones, embrace the present moment, make peace with themselves, and deepen interpersonal connections. Working through each personal reflection and guided meditation, one day at a time, listeners will regain the strength to live fully and enhance their capacities for gratitude, generosity, and love—regardless of the changes and challenges that come.

Backed by research and clinical studies, and interspersed with stories from the author’s own experiences working in end-of-life care, this book is a welcome offering for all of us to treat ourselves and those around us gently in order to live more fully. The book’s three parts—Mindfulness, Compassion, and Connectedness—each contain prompts for meditations, reflective writing, and daily practices that are rooted in Buddhism and can benefit everyone. Frequent reminders to “pause now” encourage us to be where we’re at and move at a pace that is comfortable.

Updated for the first time since 2011, this new edition offers a refreshed and inviting presentation of Susan Bauer-Wu’s practical advice. It includes a new cover, updated front matter, and a few new chapters. It has been revised to expand its audience to include loved ones and caregivers, as well as those living with serious illness.