Safe Passage: Thinking Clearly About Life and Death

At some point in life’s journey, each of us is bound to realize, in our own way and in our own time, that no matter how hard we try, we are unlikely to find any significant measure of happiness while we live in fear of our mortality.
On the contrary, Christian apologist Richard E. Simmons, III, suggests that as mature, responsible adults we must recognize that until we choose to carefully examine and accept the philosophical implications of death, we actually forego the opportunity of experiencing the rich promises of life.
The central focus of this book of quiet and caring reflections, ideal for those who may be struggling with very real issues of death and dying, of fear and loss, conveys the conviction that the true challenge to leading a full life is to reach that place in our intellectual and emotional development where our perspective on dying is genuinely transformed.
Only then, the author concludes, will we find ourselves in a position to discover and share with others the happy prospect of a hoped-for peace … a peace which passes all understanding.

Richard Earl Simmons, III, received a B.A. in economics from the University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee, in 1976. After many years in the business world, he is now retired from the insurance brokerage fi rm of Hilb, Rogal, & Hobbs, where he served as president for ten years.
As executive director of the Center for Executive Leadership, a Christian-based community resource, the author lives in Birmingham, Alabama, with his wife, Holly, and their three children, Dixon, Dorothy Pate, and Will.