Nothing Left Unsaid: Creating a Healing Legacy with Final Words and Letters - Softcover

Polce-Lynch PhD, Mary

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1569243212 ISBN 13: 9781569243213

Publisher: Marlowe & Co., 2006

Synopsis

With the last will and testament, our culture has a way to settle estates and material possessions. But we don't have a ritual for bequeathing messages of love, forgiveness, life lessons, hope, and personal legacy. Now, Nothing Left Unsaid is the first-ever nondenominational guide—at once practical and inspiring—that shows how to craft "Final Words," a last communication to leave behind for a spouse, parent, friend, son, daughter, or grandchildren. These final healing words offer our survivors a sense of tangible closure—whether in the event of a sudden death, terminal illness, or the end of a long and well-lived life. Legacy Letters similarly provide a way to express sentiments to loved ones as they approach the end of their lives. Both legacies ensure that nothing is left unsaid.

About this title

From the Publisher

At her own father's death, developmental psychologist and licensed counselor Mary Polce-Lynch realized the deep need for a new kind of legacy--one that transcends the last wills and testaments that disperse only our material possessions. Developed out of her twenty years of experience, Dr. Polce-Lynch's groundbreaking Nothing Left Unsaid provides guidelines for creating new legacies, showing us how to craft a last communication for a spouse, parent, friend, children, or grandchildren. These healing "Final Words" offer survivors a tangible sense of closure--whether in the event of a sudden death, terminal illness, or at the end of a long, well-lived life. Both practical and inspiring, Nothing Left Unsaid also introduces "Legacy Letters," which provide a way for us to express our feelings to loved ones who are approaching the end of their lives. Both Final Words and Legacy Letters ensure that we have done all we can to let our loved ones know our thoughts and feelings, allowing us to honor relationships and convey values, hopes, wishes, and memories, leaving behind a deeply rewarding legacy that truly leaves nothing left unsaid.
Praise for Nothing Left Unsaid:

"We live each moment just a heartbeat away from death, at risk of losing everyone we love, or once loved. We can't change this sobering fact of life, but we can ensure that on any given day we have said the things that we would most want the important people in our lives to know. Mary Polce-Lynch conveys timeless wisdom and offers practical tools for affirming relationships and strengthening bonds of friendship and love. This book is a treasure for anyone who is mortal, or loves someone who is..." --Ira Byock, MD, author of Dying Well and The Four Things That Matter Most

"Dr. Mary Polce-Lynch mixes humanity and good science in discussing ways for people to write about life and death. There is solid evidence that writing about emotional upheavals in our lives can promote health. Nothing Left Unsaid takes this idea to an important new level, asking readers to contemplate their own deaths and imagine the impact on loved ones. By writing thoughtful goodbyes, both the surviving loved ones and the writer can benefit extraordinarily. I'm very impressed with the power of this book and its potential to make a difference in people's lives." --James W. Pennebaker, Professor of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, author of Opening Up

"People die; relationships don't. Mary Polce-Lynch's profoundly moving book teaches all of us new ways to keep our most intimate relationships alive in the face of death. With Final Word and Legacy Letters, Mary encourages us to face the inevitability of death and loss together by writing to each other our love, appreciation, amends, and forgiveness before it's too late. Shortly after I was diagnosed with cancer and was lost in my sickness, my son read me a letter he had written to me. His words reached across the chasm separating us. His words reached my heart. Read Mary's book. Write your letters. I'm working on mine." --David Treadway, PhD, family therapist and author of Intimacy, Change, and other Therapeutic Mysteries and Dead Reckoning: A Therapist Confronts his own Grief

About the Author

Mary Polce-Lynch, PhD, is assistant director of the Counseling Center at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, VA, where she is also assistant professor of psychology. The author of Boy Talk: How You Can Help Your Son Express His Emotions, she has more than 20 years of experience as a developmental psychologist, licensed professional counselor and certified school psychologist. She lives with her family in Ashland, VA.

Edition details

• Publisher: Marlowe & Co.
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1569243212
• ISBN 13: 9781569243213
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 244