The Books of R. J. Brown

STANDING THE WATCH: The Greatest Gift

       In October of 1999 a doctor at a prominent Seattle hospital tells Lincoln Brown he has less than three months left to live. In the 89th year of his life, Lincoln chooses to return to his cabin in the rainforest of the Olympic Peninsula where his beloved Buddy'dog awaits and where he can die at home in his bed, the way he was born, in the company of his family.
       Just as we think about birth, hiring strangers in strange places to do it for us, we think of dying as a life event we prefer not to face and so we leave our elders to face it alone. David, who took care of his father for the last thirteen years of his life, and Rebecca for the last six, made a promise to Poppa that they would be in service to his wish to die at home. STANDING THE WATCH is the story of Rebecca's exhausting and inspiring thirteen days.
       In a combination of log excerpts, emails, memories and essays about what she is experiencing and learning, Rebecca takes you on the journey of standing the watch of her father–in–law's final days, from when he comes home with his son, to when he leaves in a body bag. Sometimes humorously and sometimes panicky, she writes about the changes in someone she loves; the troubles with medications; the tension with doctors and clergy; her spiritual awakening and poltergeist beds.
       When her watch is done, and her world stands still, she offers her thoughts about death and dying, why we shun it and how we might learn from it. Rebecca ends her book with a colorful memorial service for a dear friend, where memories of his life are filled with tears and laughter and the thudding of the drums, makes her heart and spirit soar.
       STANDING THE WATCH takes you gently into one woman's world as her elder lies dying. You will experience her memories of other deaths and other lives, her fears, philosophies and angers, her fierce affection and joys, as well as occasional lighthearted moments. Day by day, memory after memory, you will be at Rebecca's side during one of the most difficult and thrilling times in the life of a family.

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