INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED PSYCHIATRIST and author Irvin Yalom dedicated his career to counseling and psychotherapy for people suffering from anxiety and grief. However, he had never found himself in need of counseling himself until the day his wife, Marilyn Yalom, a distinguished author of cultural history books focused primarily on women's issues, was diagnosed with cancer. In the book A Matter of Death and Life, Marilyn and Irvin Yalom share with readers how they had to face an unprecedented and painful struggle: Marilyn to die a dignified death, Irvin to continue living without her. In their successive descriptions of the last months of their shared life and then the first months Irvin was alone, they offer us a rare glimpse into dealing with the death and loss of a loved one. The Yaloms were very fortunate in many areas—they had a beloved family, a beautiful home, a wide circle of friends, enthusiastic readers worldwide, and a long and very satisfying marriage—but they faced death, as we all do. With the honesty and wisdom of people who have thought deeply and know how to love, they explore universal issues of closeness, love, and grief. Written with the knowledge and experience of two complete lives, A Matter of Death and Life offers profound understanding and comfort to all those struggling to fight against despair in the face of death, to live a meaningful life. PRAISE FOR THE BOOK Marilyn and Irvin write with such clarity that I feel as if I lived that entire time with them… I was deeply moved by the humility with which Irvin acknowledges that we are always unprepared for the fateful encounter with death or the loss of our soul mate, no matter how closely we follow similar stories as therapists. The book is enlightening and vividly written, a very beautiful, thorough observation of the comfort offered by the thought that we have lived our lives well, and a beacon of hope for all of us who will someday mourn. And of course, it is an essay on how we mortals can learn to live knowing this truth about ourselves. – KATHRYN MANNIX This wonderfully written, poignant yet comforting testimony is a love story, the tale of two people who lived incredibly complete lives, almost as if they were one person… It will inspire you and likely prompt you to look at your life differently. – ABRAHAM VERGHESE For over half a century, distinguished psychiatrist Irvin Yalom has captivated the world with his stories about the human soul, stories filled with wisdom, introspection, and humor. Now, with impressive honesty and courage, he shares with us the most difficult experience of his life: the loss of his wife and lifelong partner since their teenage years. Companions to the end, companions even in writing this book, they reveal to us an indelible image of grief—the terror, the agony, the denial, and the reluctant acceptance. But they leave us with much more than just the penetrating narrative of a definitive loss—a memorable and painfully beautiful love story that endures.

– LORI GOTTLIEB   The Question of Death and Life is much more than a book. It is an inexhaustible love story. It is a text that traverses the past and the present. It is exquisite, honest, and vulnerable – the usual bombastic defenses of impression are absent – as it approaches the unbearable pain of separation and the incurable void of loss. It would do us all good to read this intelligent and understandable book many times, both to be able to face death as we approach the end of our lives and, perhaps even more importantly, to be able to confront our grief when such a beloved person dies before us. – DR JOANNE CACCIATORE BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS IRVIN YALOM, emeritus professor of psychiatry at Stanford University, is the author of international bestsellers, including When Nietzsche Wept, The Executioner of Love, The Gift of Therapy, Existential Psychotherapy, and Was That Life? Then Once More! Memoirs of a Psychiatrist. MARILYN YALOM's books include classic works of cultural history such as A History of the Wife, A History of the Breast, Birth of the Chess Queen, and How the French Invented Love, as well as her last book published posthumously, Innocent Witnesses: Childhood Memories of World War II. Irvin and Marilyn Yalom were married for 65 years.