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The Wheel of Life: A Memoir of Living and Dying
On Life and Living
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, M.D., is the woman who has transformed the way the world thinks about death and dying. Beginning with the groundbreaking publication of the classic psychological study On Death and Dying and continuing through her many books and her years working with terminally ill children, AIDS patients, and the elderly, Kübler-Ross has brought comfort and understanding to millions coping with their own deaths or the deaths of loved ones. Now, at age seventy-one facing her own death, this world-renowned healer tells the story of her extraordinary life. Having taught the world how to die well, she now offers a lesson on how to live well. Her story is an adventure of the heart -- powerful, controversial, inspirational -- a fitting legacy of a powerful life.
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, M.D., is the woman who has transformed the way the world thinks about death and dying. Beginning with the groundbreaking publication of the classic psychological study On Death and Dying and continuing through her many books and her years working with terminally ill children, AIDS patients, and the elderly, Kübler-Ross has brought comfort and understanding to millions coping with their own deaths or the deaths of loved ones. Now, at age seventy-one facing her own death, this world-renowned healer tells the story of her extraordinary life. Having taught the world how to die well, she now offers a lesson on how to live well. Her story is an adventure of the heart -- powerful, controversial, inspirational -- a fitting legacy of a powerful life.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 25, 1994
About the author
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
122 books1,502 followersElisabeth Kübler-Ross was a Swiss-American psychiatrist, a pioneer in near-death studies, and author of the internationally best-selling book, On Death and Dying (1969), where she first discussed her theory of the five stages of grief, also known as the "Kübler-Ross model".
Kübler-Ross was a 2007 inductee into the National Women's Hall of Fame, was named by Time as one of the "100 Most Important Thinkers" of the 20th century and was the recipient of twenty honorary degrees. By July 1982, Kübler-Ross had taught 125,000 students in death and dying courses in colleges, seminaries, medical schools, hospitals, and social-work institutions. In 1970, she delivered an Ingersoll Lecture at Harvard University on the theme On Death and Dying. The New York Public Library also named, "On Death & Dying" as one of the "Library's Books of the Century."
Kübler-Ross was a 2007 inductee into the National Women's Hall of Fame, was named by Time as one of the "100 Most Important Thinkers" of the 20th century and was the recipient of twenty honorary degrees. By July 1982, Kübler-Ross had taught 125,000 students in death and dying courses in colleges, seminaries, medical schools, hospitals, and social-work institutions. In 1970, she delivered an Ingersoll Lecture at Harvard University on the theme On Death and Dying. The New York Public Library also named, "On Death & Dying" as one of the "Library's Books of the Century."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 402 reviews
September 17, 2012
I find it very difficult to give a review of this book. I tore through it at a crazy pace and found a lot of truth in it. As a parent who lost a child to cancer, Dr Kubler-Ross has always been a voice I have respected and appreciated since his death. Her words and work have been pathways of healing for so many of us. Most of the book is interesting and informative. I found myself pondering her writing with pen in hand, at times underlining or marking passages that particularly spoke to me and often with tears in my eyes. There is just so much truth in this book.
However, in the second half of the book the nature of it changes completely. I can only describe it as bizarre as this very educated, insightful, rather amazing woman takes her intellect and delves into a spiritual world that everything in me categorizes as fantasy. It put me in a bit of a conundrum, as I so wish to see and hear her as the expert she truly is when it comes to death and dying, yet she believes she can talk to Jesus through a table. Her contact with "fairies" and "spirit guides" throw a curve into her thoughts that point to an unconventionality that nothing in me can stand behind. I force myself not to dismiss it outright simply out of respect for all the other great things she achieved with her mind, but it is with significant struggle. Honestly she sounds a bit nutty in her latter years.
In all, it was an easy read, interesting and enjoyable. She certainly lived an unconventional life, one that lead to the publishing of information on death, dying and grieving that others have failed to touch on with nearly as much truth. It was worth reading.
However, in the second half of the book the nature of it changes completely. I can only describe it as bizarre as this very educated, insightful, rather amazing woman takes her intellect and delves into a spiritual world that everything in me categorizes as fantasy. It put me in a bit of a conundrum, as I so wish to see and hear her as the expert she truly is when it comes to death and dying, yet she believes she can talk to Jesus through a table. Her contact with "fairies" and "spirit guides" throw a curve into her thoughts that point to an unconventionality that nothing in me can stand behind. I force myself not to dismiss it outright simply out of respect for all the other great things she achieved with her mind, but it is with significant struggle. Honestly she sounds a bit nutty in her latter years.
In all, it was an easy read, interesting and enjoyable. She certainly lived an unconventional life, one that lead to the publishing of information on death, dying and grieving that others have failed to touch on with nearly as much truth. It was worth reading.
December 17, 2011
oh dear! This autobiography-memoir of a Swiss doctor and researcher into the process of dying started out mildly interesting as Ms. Kubler grows up, became fascinating in the middle chapters as Dr. Ross's medical career finds its focus, occasionally took a turn towards the truly inspiring and profound, as one would expect from someone who works with and shows great compassion for dying persons of all ages and social situations.....(by this point I have started to recommend it to friends, and marvel at her stamina, determination, and the energy she is able to find to continually be of service to people who are having a difficult time in life....even though there are occasionally disturbing hints that she is rather full of herself). Then toward the middle, the book took an odd turn - it was rather shocking and didn't fit the tone of what came before, but I thought well, ok if that one thing happened to her, I'll swallow that and move on even though I don't believe it. Then another odd passage came along, and by page 260 the author had completely and totally gone off the deep end! (At this point I am actually embarrassed to be seen reading this book on the train! ) At the point that she starts to have these supernatural experiences which get more and more unbelievable until I am left feeling sorry for her husband Manny and understand why he eventually had no choice other than to divorce her. Eventually losing any capacity for skepticism, she starts seeing fairies in pictures, moving tables, attending seances where a naked man in a turbin is channeling spirits and then claiming to find these spirit in her bed with her! It was all so weird and unexpected when the book shifted gears into this bizarre supernatural mode.....I thought it would take another radical turn back to reality..... I kept expecting her to realize at some point that she had been duped by the channelers in Escondido, but that doesn't seem to be forthcoming, and my patience as a reader to be fed one strange tale after another has run thin. I just cannot finish this book. Sadly, the latter part of the book makes it hard to accept this writer as a credible source of information on anything. That is a pity, because there are probably many truths and valuable insights that she found out during the earlier years of her career (pre-fairy). I am left with the impression of a tough, stubborn doctor with a big heart and a great intellectual curiosity who did brave, interesting, and valuable work until she herself somehow lost her grip on reality.
It would be interesting to know what later (non-fairy-seeing) researchers who continued working in the field she pioneered have found out since then, to check how much of her scientific work is accepted today.
It would be interesting to know what later (non-fairy-seeing) researchers who continued working in the field she pioneered have found out since then, to check how much of her scientific work is accepted today.
June 11, 2009
This book was recommended by a friend and I rejected it. He was so adamant that I should read it that he gave it to me as a late bday gift. It's one of the most meaningful gifts I've received. This book is not just a memoir of the phenomenal life of Elizabeth Kubler Ross but it's a guide. A guide to how one should live their life. Shared by the woman who was an expert on death and dying, her greatest discovery - death means nothing if you live your life to the fullest. PLEASE read this book!
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October 3, 2019Este libro me dejo un extraño sabor
En un inicio me gusto lo que iba narrando la autora y el como fue una persona sensible para aquellos pacientes en estado terminal y como quiso que se les tomara en cuenta y que no solo sean un bulto en los hospitales.
Pero para la mitad o un poco mas de la mitad, cuando un ex paciente se le aparece y le habla siento que pierde seriedad el libro y ella misma, ya que entra más a un mundo espiritista y aunque no deja de lado a sus pacientes en la tierra, ese giro tan "hippie" me extraño. Aun así deja un buen mensaje en general el libro
En un inicio me gusto lo que iba narrando la autora y el como fue una persona sensible para aquellos pacientes en estado terminal y como quiso que se les tomara en cuenta y que no solo sean un bulto en los hospitales.
Pero para la mitad o un poco mas de la mitad, cuando un ex paciente se le aparece y le habla siento que pierde seriedad el libro y ella misma, ya que entra más a un mundo espiritista y aunque no deja de lado a sus pacientes en la tierra, ese giro tan "hippie" me extraño. Aun así deja un buen mensaje en general el libro
October 10, 2021
If you don't have magic intertwined with your perception of life, you will not be able to understand, digest and accept this book as a full circle.
''That was certainly true of the dozen or so bunnies we kept in a little coop out in the garden. I was primarily responsible for cleaning their house, making sure they were fed and playing with them. Even though my mother put rabbit stew on the menu every few months, I conveniently never thought of how the rabbits got in the stewpot. On the other hand I did notice the rabbits only approached the gate when I entered, never when anybody else from my family walked in. This favoritism inspired me to spoil them even more. At least they could distinguish me from my sisters. After they started multiplying, my father decided to reduce their numbers and only keep a certain minimum of rabbits. I do not understand why he did this. They cost nothing to feed, since they ate dandelions and grass, and there was no shortage of either in our yard. But he must have figured that he was saving money somehow. One morning he asked my mother to make a rabbit roast. Then he got hold of me. “Take one of your rabbits to the butcher on your way to school,” he said. “Then bring it back over the lunch break so Mother can cook it in time for dinner.” Though rendered speechless by the thought of what he requested, I obeyed. Later that night, I watched my family eat “my” bunny. I nearly choked when my father suggested I try a little bite. “Perhaps a leg,” he said. I stubbornly refused and managed to avoid an “invitation” to my father’s study. This drama repeated itself for months, until the only rabbit left was Blackie, my favorite. He was a big, fat ball of fluff. I loved to cuddle him and unburden all my secrets. He was a great listener, a wonderful shrink. I was convinced he was the only living creature in the whole world who loved me unconditionally. Then came the day I dreaded. After breakfast, my father told me to take Blackie to the butcher. I walked outside shaking and distraught. As I scooped him up, I confessed what I’d been ordered to do. Blackie looked at me, his pink nose twitching. “I can’t do it,” I said, and placed him on the ground. “Run away,” I begged. “Go.” But he did not budge. Finally I ran out of time. School was about to start. So I grabbed Blackie and ran to the butcher shop, tears running down my cheeks. Poor Blackie sensed something dreadful was about to happen, I have to think. I mean, his heart was beating as fast as mine as I handed him to the butcher and hurried off to school without saying good-bye. I spent the rest of the day thinking about Blackie. I wondered if he had been killed already, if he knew that I loved him and would miss him forever. I regretted not having said good-bye. All of these questions I asked myself, not to mention my attitude, planted the seeds for my future work. I hated the way I felt and blamed my father. After school, I walked slowly into the village. The butcher was waiting in the shop’s doorway. As he handed me the bag containing Blackie, he said, “It’s a damn shame you had to bring this rabbit. In a day or two, she would have had bunnies.” (I hadn’t known that Blackie was a female.) I did not think I could feel any worse, but I did. I deposited the still-warm bag on the counter. Later I sat at the table and watched my family eat my bunny. I did not cry. I did not want my parents to know how much they had hurt me. I reasoned that they obviously did not love me, and so I had to learn to be tough. Tougher than anyone. As my father complimented my mother on the delicious meal, I told myself, “If you can make it through this, then you can make it through anything in life.”
My destiny, whatever it turned out to be, was still many miles ahead, somewhere in the desert of human suffering. If I was ever to get there, if I was ever to help, I had to get on the path.
During my consultations, I sat on beds, held hands and talked for hours. There was, I learned, not a single dying human being who did not yearn for love, touch or communication. Dying patients did not want a safe distance from their doctors. They craved honesty. Even the most suicidally depressed patients could often, though not always, be convinced there was still meaning left in their lives. “Tell me what you’re going through,” I would say. “It will help me to help other people.” But, tragically, the worst cases—those people in the last stages of illness, those who were in the process of dying—were given the worst treatment. They were put in the rooms farthest from the nursing stations. They were forced to lie under bright lights they could not shut off. They were denied visitors, except during prescribed hours. They were left alone to die, as if death might be contagious. I refused to go along with such practices. They seemed wrong to me. So I stayed with my dying patients for however long it took, and I told them I would. Although I worked all over the hospital, I gravitated toward those cases considered the worst—dying patients. They were the best teachers I ever had. I observed them struggling to accept fate. I listened to them lash out at God. I shrugged helplessly when they cried out, “Why me?” I heard them make peace with Him. I noticed that if there was another human being who cared, they would arrive at a point of acceptance. These were what I would eventually describe as the different stages of dying, though they apply to the way we deal with any type of loss. By listening, I came to know that all dying patients know they are dying. It’s not a question of “Do we tell him?” or “Does he know?” The only question to ask is: “Can I hear him?
Live so that you don’t look back and regret that you’ve wasted your life. Live so you don’t regret the things you have done or wish that you had acted differently. Live life honestly and fully. Live.
There were no guarantees in life, except that everyone faces struggles. It is how we learn. Some face struggle from the moment they are born. They are the most special of all people, requiring the most care and compassion and reminding us that love is the sole purpose of life.
“Shanti Nilaya,” he said clearly, pronouncing each lovely syllable slowly. “It is Sanskrit, and it means ‘the final home of peace.’ It’s where we go at the end of our earthly journey when we return to God.” “Yes,” I said to myself, echoing the words I had heard in the dark room months before. “Shanti Nilaya.”
As I pass from this world to the next, I know that heaven or hell is determined by the way people live their lives in the present. The sole purpose of life is to grow. The ultimate lesson is learning how to love and be loved unconditionally. There are millions of people on Earth who are starving. There are millions who are homeless. There are millions who have AIDS. There are millions of people who have been abused. There are millions of people who struggle with disabilities. Every day someone new cries out for understanding and compassion. Listen to the sound. Hear the call as if it was beautiful music. I can assure you that the greatest rewards in your whole life will come from opening your heart to those in need. The greatest blessings always come from helping. I truly believe that my truth is a universal one—above all religions, economics, race and color—shared by the common experience of life. All people come from the same source and return to the same source. We must all learn to love and be loved unconditionally. All the hardships that come to you in life, all the tribulations and nightmares, all the things you see as punishments from God, are in reality like gifts. They are an opportunity to grow, which is the sole purpose of life. You cannot heal the world without healing yourself first. If you are ready for spiritual experiences and you are not afraid, you will have them yourself. You do not need a guru or a Baba to tell you how to do it. All of us, when we were born from the source, which I call God, were endowed with a facet of divinity. That is what gives us knowledge of our immortality. You should live until you die. No one dies alone. Everyone is loved beyond comprehension. Everyone is blessed and guided. It is very important that you do only what you love to do. You may be poor, you may go hungry, you may live in a shabby place, but you will totally live. And at the end of your days, you will bless your life because you have done what you came here to do. The hardest lesson to learn is unconditional love. Dying is nothing to fear. It can be the most wonderful experience of your life. It all depends on how you have lived. Death is but a transition from this life to another existence where there is no more pain and anguish. Everything is bearable when there is love. My wish is that you try to give more people more love. The only thing that lives forever is love.''
''That was certainly true of the dozen or so bunnies we kept in a little coop out in the garden. I was primarily responsible for cleaning their house, making sure they were fed and playing with them. Even though my mother put rabbit stew on the menu every few months, I conveniently never thought of how the rabbits got in the stewpot. On the other hand I did notice the rabbits only approached the gate when I entered, never when anybody else from my family walked in. This favoritism inspired me to spoil them even more. At least they could distinguish me from my sisters. After they started multiplying, my father decided to reduce their numbers and only keep a certain minimum of rabbits. I do not understand why he did this. They cost nothing to feed, since they ate dandelions and grass, and there was no shortage of either in our yard. But he must have figured that he was saving money somehow. One morning he asked my mother to make a rabbit roast. Then he got hold of me. “Take one of your rabbits to the butcher on your way to school,” he said. “Then bring it back over the lunch break so Mother can cook it in time for dinner.” Though rendered speechless by the thought of what he requested, I obeyed. Later that night, I watched my family eat “my” bunny. I nearly choked when my father suggested I try a little bite. “Perhaps a leg,” he said. I stubbornly refused and managed to avoid an “invitation” to my father’s study. This drama repeated itself for months, until the only rabbit left was Blackie, my favorite. He was a big, fat ball of fluff. I loved to cuddle him and unburden all my secrets. He was a great listener, a wonderful shrink. I was convinced he was the only living creature in the whole world who loved me unconditionally. Then came the day I dreaded. After breakfast, my father told me to take Blackie to the butcher. I walked outside shaking and distraught. As I scooped him up, I confessed what I’d been ordered to do. Blackie looked at me, his pink nose twitching. “I can’t do it,” I said, and placed him on the ground. “Run away,” I begged. “Go.” But he did not budge. Finally I ran out of time. School was about to start. So I grabbed Blackie and ran to the butcher shop, tears running down my cheeks. Poor Blackie sensed something dreadful was about to happen, I have to think. I mean, his heart was beating as fast as mine as I handed him to the butcher and hurried off to school without saying good-bye. I spent the rest of the day thinking about Blackie. I wondered if he had been killed already, if he knew that I loved him and would miss him forever. I regretted not having said good-bye. All of these questions I asked myself, not to mention my attitude, planted the seeds for my future work. I hated the way I felt and blamed my father. After school, I walked slowly into the village. The butcher was waiting in the shop’s doorway. As he handed me the bag containing Blackie, he said, “It’s a damn shame you had to bring this rabbit. In a day or two, she would have had bunnies.” (I hadn’t known that Blackie was a female.) I did not think I could feel any worse, but I did. I deposited the still-warm bag on the counter. Later I sat at the table and watched my family eat my bunny. I did not cry. I did not want my parents to know how much they had hurt me. I reasoned that they obviously did not love me, and so I had to learn to be tough. Tougher than anyone. As my father complimented my mother on the delicious meal, I told myself, “If you can make it through this, then you can make it through anything in life.”
My destiny, whatever it turned out to be, was still many miles ahead, somewhere in the desert of human suffering. If I was ever to get there, if I was ever to help, I had to get on the path.
During my consultations, I sat on beds, held hands and talked for hours. There was, I learned, not a single dying human being who did not yearn for love, touch or communication. Dying patients did not want a safe distance from their doctors. They craved honesty. Even the most suicidally depressed patients could often, though not always, be convinced there was still meaning left in their lives. “Tell me what you’re going through,” I would say. “It will help me to help other people.” But, tragically, the worst cases—those people in the last stages of illness, those who were in the process of dying—were given the worst treatment. They were put in the rooms farthest from the nursing stations. They were forced to lie under bright lights they could not shut off. They were denied visitors, except during prescribed hours. They were left alone to die, as if death might be contagious. I refused to go along with such practices. They seemed wrong to me. So I stayed with my dying patients for however long it took, and I told them I would. Although I worked all over the hospital, I gravitated toward those cases considered the worst—dying patients. They were the best teachers I ever had. I observed them struggling to accept fate. I listened to them lash out at God. I shrugged helplessly when they cried out, “Why me?” I heard them make peace with Him. I noticed that if there was another human being who cared, they would arrive at a point of acceptance. These were what I would eventually describe as the different stages of dying, though they apply to the way we deal with any type of loss. By listening, I came to know that all dying patients know they are dying. It’s not a question of “Do we tell him?” or “Does he know?” The only question to ask is: “Can I hear him?
Live so that you don’t look back and regret that you’ve wasted your life. Live so you don’t regret the things you have done or wish that you had acted differently. Live life honestly and fully. Live.
There were no guarantees in life, except that everyone faces struggles. It is how we learn. Some face struggle from the moment they are born. They are the most special of all people, requiring the most care and compassion and reminding us that love is the sole purpose of life.
“Shanti Nilaya,” he said clearly, pronouncing each lovely syllable slowly. “It is Sanskrit, and it means ‘the final home of peace.’ It’s where we go at the end of our earthly journey when we return to God.” “Yes,” I said to myself, echoing the words I had heard in the dark room months before. “Shanti Nilaya.”
As I pass from this world to the next, I know that heaven or hell is determined by the way people live their lives in the present. The sole purpose of life is to grow. The ultimate lesson is learning how to love and be loved unconditionally. There are millions of people on Earth who are starving. There are millions who are homeless. There are millions who have AIDS. There are millions of people who have been abused. There are millions of people who struggle with disabilities. Every day someone new cries out for understanding and compassion. Listen to the sound. Hear the call as if it was beautiful music. I can assure you that the greatest rewards in your whole life will come from opening your heart to those in need. The greatest blessings always come from helping. I truly believe that my truth is a universal one—above all religions, economics, race and color—shared by the common experience of life. All people come from the same source and return to the same source. We must all learn to love and be loved unconditionally. All the hardships that come to you in life, all the tribulations and nightmares, all the things you see as punishments from God, are in reality like gifts. They are an opportunity to grow, which is the sole purpose of life. You cannot heal the world without healing yourself first. If you are ready for spiritual experiences and you are not afraid, you will have them yourself. You do not need a guru or a Baba to tell you how to do it. All of us, when we were born from the source, which I call God, were endowed with a facet of divinity. That is what gives us knowledge of our immortality. You should live until you die. No one dies alone. Everyone is loved beyond comprehension. Everyone is blessed and guided. It is very important that you do only what you love to do. You may be poor, you may go hungry, you may live in a shabby place, but you will totally live. And at the end of your days, you will bless your life because you have done what you came here to do. The hardest lesson to learn is unconditional love. Dying is nothing to fear. It can be the most wonderful experience of your life. It all depends on how you have lived. Death is but a transition from this life to another existence where there is no more pain and anguish. Everything is bearable when there is love. My wish is that you try to give more people more love. The only thing that lives forever is love.''
December 13, 2012
Este es el tercer libro que leo de Elisabeth Kübler-Ross y sigo quedando encantada con sus relatos. Es un verdadero deleite leer a ésta gran mujer, madre de la Tanatología. El libro es una memoria sobre su vida. Me maravilló leer todos los acontecimientos históricos que le tocó presenciar y como los vivió. Desde pequeña tenía un llamado para ayudar a otros y fue fiel a si misma hasta el final a pesar de encontrar oposición a sus ideas y acciones repetidamente. Me sigue impresionando la intolerancia de muchos autonombrados “buenos cristianos” que parecen no entender que el mensaje de Cristo era uno de amor; amor incondicional. Y bueno, ese odio galopante que profesan hasta la fecha muchos de ellos, hizo que un grupo de ellos terminara con el sueño de Elisabeth de dar hogar a niños con SIDA. Y a pesar de haber perdido todo lo que poseía no perdió lo más valioso, la vida misma y su dedicación para ayudar a los demás.
Cuando un grupo de ignorantes e intolerantes en Virginia incendia su granja para ahuyentarla ella dice que esa época se caracterizaba por la violencia y el odio y que las cosas se pondrían aún peor. Y no se equivocó. Treinta años después la humanidad está más contaminada por el odio y la violencia que nunca. Pareciera que no hemos aprendido nada de la historia. Y por supuesto seguimos destruyendo consistentemente nuestra casa, el planeta Tierra y viendo como eliminamos para siempre a todos aquellos que sean diferentes a nosotros o nuestra ideología. Aún así creo que hay gente haciendo un trabajo maravilloso y extraordinario para sanar y reparar no sólo al planeta sino a la misma humanidad. Y ciertamente no hay manera de sanar o ayudar a sanar nada ni a nadie si no comenzamos por sanarnos a nosotros mismos.
Hay tanto que aprenderle sobre la vida y la muerte. Sobre las experiencias de ésta mujer de primera mano con tantos y tantos moribundos y enfermos terminales. Hay tanto trabajo espiritual por hacer y caminos que recorrer para aprender la lección más importante de todas: el amor incondicional. Al igual que ella creo que lo difícil no es morir sino vivir. Y me quedo con sus sabias palabras:
Vive de tal forma que al mirar hacia atrás no lamentes haber desperdiciado la existencia.
Vive de tal forma que no lamentes las cosas que has hecho ni desees haber actuado de otra manera.
Vive con sinceridad y plenamente.
¡Vive!
Cuando un grupo de ignorantes e intolerantes en Virginia incendia su granja para ahuyentarla ella dice que esa época se caracterizaba por la violencia y el odio y que las cosas se pondrían aún peor. Y no se equivocó. Treinta años después la humanidad está más contaminada por el odio y la violencia que nunca. Pareciera que no hemos aprendido nada de la historia. Y por supuesto seguimos destruyendo consistentemente nuestra casa, el planeta Tierra y viendo como eliminamos para siempre a todos aquellos que sean diferentes a nosotros o nuestra ideología. Aún así creo que hay gente haciendo un trabajo maravilloso y extraordinario para sanar y reparar no sólo al planeta sino a la misma humanidad. Y ciertamente no hay manera de sanar o ayudar a sanar nada ni a nadie si no comenzamos por sanarnos a nosotros mismos.
Hay tanto que aprenderle sobre la vida y la muerte. Sobre las experiencias de ésta mujer de primera mano con tantos y tantos moribundos y enfermos terminales. Hay tanto trabajo espiritual por hacer y caminos que recorrer para aprender la lección más importante de todas: el amor incondicional. Al igual que ella creo que lo difícil no es morir sino vivir. Y me quedo con sus sabias palabras:
Vive de tal forma que al mirar hacia atrás no lamentes haber desperdiciado la existencia.
Vive de tal forma que no lamentes las cosas que has hecho ni desees haber actuado de otra manera.
Vive con sinceridad y plenamente.
¡Vive!
September 15, 2018
Me da pena, la manera en la que se psicotizó! y nadie pudo deternela de publicar esto, como la detienes si ella era "la psiquiatra", creo que su marido lo intentó, leer este libro me dió miedo pues yo también soy humano y también soy psiquiatra y sé lo vulnerables que somos todos ( sin excepción ) ante la enfermedad mental, pero me aterroriza más que la gente tenga tan poca educación en salud mental que en vez de detectar una enfermedad mental grave como la que padeció desde mediados de su vida la Dra. Ross, (y de lo cual existe evidencia suficiente en este libro autobiográfico) sean seguidores fieles de lo que a todas luces empezó como una excelente teoría (pues lo es, y vigente hasta la fecha), pero lamentablemente terminó siendo un delirio al final de su vida, desde mi criterio creo que la Dra. padecía un trastorno esquizoafectivo tipo bipolar y es una pena, pero también es un muy buen ejemplo de la principal característica de la enfermedad mental: " la enfermedad mental es el único padecimiento que no se reconoce a sí mismo" en otras palabras quien lo sufre no logra darse cuenta de que lo que vive no es real, Sea psiquiatra o no.
September 9, 2019
Good book but when she began discussing spirit guides and seeing ghosts, it lost it's appeal to me.
December 29, 2019
"La rueda de la vida", de Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, probablemente sea el libro por el cual, hoy, soy Psicóloga. En el transcurso de la carrera, los profesores siempre te preguntan por qué decidiste estudiar psicología. Yo nunca tuve una respuesta concreta; sin embargo, al momento de responder, había algo dentro de mí que me llevaba a este libro.
Este es el último libro que escribió la Dra. Kübler-Ross antes de morir, donde narra su autobiografía, desde su nacimiento en Suiza, pasando por todo su recorrido hasta convertirse en médica psiquiatra. Elisabeth fue una mujer de convicciones fuertes, que nunca renunció a sus sueños. En esta obra se animó a tratar el tema del tránsito de la muerte, de despedirse de los seres queridos y de poder aceptarla como algo natural, que forma parte del proceso de la vida.
Además, la Dra. Kübler-Ross contribuyó grandemente en los avances de la psiquiatría, al tratar a sus pacientes como personas, escuchándolos y atendiendo a sus necesidades.
Por todo eso y por un montón de cosas más es que, cuando me preguntaban por qué estudié psicología, mi respuesta final era: "porque quiero ser como ella". Quiero ser una mujer fuerte, que luche por sus sueños hasta alcanzarlos; que ayude a las personas sin importar nada, siendo siempre fiel a sus convicciones.
Este es el último libro que escribió la Dra. Kübler-Ross antes de morir, donde narra su autobiografía, desde su nacimiento en Suiza, pasando por todo su recorrido hasta convertirse en médica psiquiatra. Elisabeth fue una mujer de convicciones fuertes, que nunca renunció a sus sueños. En esta obra se animó a tratar el tema del tránsito de la muerte, de despedirse de los seres queridos y de poder aceptarla como algo natural, que forma parte del proceso de la vida.
Además, la Dra. Kübler-Ross contribuyó grandemente en los avances de la psiquiatría, al tratar a sus pacientes como personas, escuchándolos y atendiendo a sus necesidades.
Por todo eso y por un montón de cosas más es que, cuando me preguntaban por qué estudié psicología, mi respuesta final era: "porque quiero ser como ella". Quiero ser una mujer fuerte, que luche por sus sueños hasta alcanzarlos; que ayude a las personas sin importar nada, siendo siempre fiel a sus convicciones.
November 20, 2012
What an interesting woman! I found the first part of her life fascinating. I have read other people's comments and I do not agree that she was arrogant. She accomplished many things and one must remember she probably had to work much harder as a woman working in the 60's and 70's in her field. She describes seeing butterflies drawn in the barracks in Maidanek, Poland before people were sent in the gas chamber and how Golda, a young woman told her that their is a Hilter in all people. She definitely was courageous to do all she did as a young woman which set the pace to her study on death and dying. She talks how death and dying was a taboo subject among her colleagues but time and again patients wanted honesty and wanted to be around people when they were dying and not alone. Her descriptions of people's near experiences of death is similar to another book I have read. Who knows why she befriended a couple who channelled spirits, why she began to believe in fairies and such later on in her life. Perhaps she was looking for something that science couldn't explain. Regardless she was an incredible woman and the book is truly worth reading.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 19, 2012
Started reading for a psych project, kept reading because I really need to pass that psych project...
What a fascinating woman - though I'm not sure I would have enjoyed knowing her! I think I would feel incredibly guilty for not living life as fully, or finding and devoting myself to a cause as single-mindedly, as she did. Also, to be honest, I might have lost patience with some of her New Age-ier ideas. She packed a lot of experiences into her 78 years and whether you agree or disagree with her philosophies on thanatology (the study of death and dying) and spirituality, it's still a really interesting read.
The tone of the book hints at self-promotion, but I don't think that's quite right (I mean, she's no Donald Trump...). It's hard to tell because sometimes we (pick your appropriate demographic) are so conditioned to downplay our accomplishments and sideline our needs. Maybe reading an autobiography of someone who focuses so much on the importance of learning to love oneself -- and perhaps practices it more than we find acceptable -- is odd and uncomfortable.
What a fascinating woman - though I'm not sure I would have enjoyed knowing her! I think I would feel incredibly guilty for not living life as fully, or finding and devoting myself to a cause as single-mindedly, as she did. Also, to be honest, I might have lost patience with some of her New Age-ier ideas. She packed a lot of experiences into her 78 years and whether you agree or disagree with her philosophies on thanatology (the study of death and dying) and spirituality, it's still a really interesting read.
The tone of the book hints at self-promotion, but I don't think that's quite right (I mean, she's no Donald Trump...). It's hard to tell because sometimes we (pick your appropriate demographic) are so conditioned to downplay our accomplishments and sideline our needs. Maybe reading an autobiography of someone who focuses so much on the importance of learning to love oneself -- and perhaps practices it more than we find acceptable -- is odd and uncomfortable.
March 14, 2015
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross - we all know her from the five stages of grief. But what a life she lived! So much experience packed into a life! Her memoir is honest and open. She writes about her early years--including the good times and the traumas, her work with every kind of patient--from a country doctor in Switzerland to a psychiatric ward in NYC to her life's work with terminally ill patients. Readers will hear her frustration with the US medical beauracracy as well as her entry into the 1980s Southern California New Age scene. Throughout the book, she shares her beliefs about life, death, and life after death (some of which may have you wondering about her sanity). In her final chapter, she is ready to die herself, so she addresses the reader directly with a summary of the wisdom she gained from her life experiences and from the experiences of her beloved patients. I was intrigued, entertained, and most importantly, inspired to love more--and as much as possible provide others and myself a "good death" when the time comes. She touched so many lives.
August 2, 2021
En la rueda de la vida, Elisabeth Kübler nos relata su propia historia, cómo se convirtió en doctora, su lucha por un trato digno a enfermos terminales y moribundos. Disfruté mucho la primera mitad del libro, y justamente después del 60%, las cosas se pusieron raras y redundantes, entre hablar con muertos, ver hadas, y un par de otras cosas paranormales, además expone una manera algo rígida de vivir hasta el último momento con lo que queda muy clara su postura en contra de la eutanasia, lo que le impide cumplir con la última voluntad de su madre, sé que es un tema complicado, pero creo que las personas deben de tener el derecho de decidir sí desean morir con dignidad. Lo que por supuesto se reconoce es que Kübler fue una mujer guerrera, que dio paz a los últimos días de muchas personas enfermas, que lucho contra la ignorancia y la fobia hacia el SIDA (que en esas fechas se figuraba terrible, justo en el libro nunca se escribe VIH; ahora sabemos la diferencia), y abrió un diálogo sobre la muerte y el proceso del duelo.
October 17, 2014
Powerful! Elisabeth Kubler-Ross has joined my pantheon of heros. Her courage, compassion, integrity, and will power was very inspiring. I don't consider myself a cry-er but this book had the water works in full effect. Regardless of whether or not you believe her paranormal experiences, this women always followed her heart and overcame seemingly insurmountable odds.
June 18, 2019
This memoir was much like what some of the reviewers previously said. It started off strong, and then, for me, it lost momentum towards the end a bit. This is partly due to Kübler’s claims of having a connection to the afterlife. Not saying that can’t be, but her way of thinking is definitely a far stretch for me. This is her memoir though, not mine.
What kept me reading this book was her passion to keep pushing for good. She was determined to succeed in life. So much so she became a physician, and a great one at that. She is responsible for hospice—which has greatly changed the way we care for people in their last days. So important. She also had a passion to care for people dying of AIDS in the 1980s. A time when no one wanted to step foot in the room with these patients. Really, she played an instrumental role in educating and changing the way healthcare providers communicate and treat all of their sick and dying patients. That’s huge.
I definitely recommend this book for the reader who is looking to find out more about Kübler’s life versus the subject of life and death. It’s a great snapshot of all that’s she’s done or tried to accomplish at least. It shows where her heart was and is now, after all that’s she’s been through.
Ending, I will say that after reading this, I do feel more comfortable about death itself, and I left with a few good reminders about how to live in the now. So for me, it was definitely worth the read.
What kept me reading this book was her passion to keep pushing for good. She was determined to succeed in life. So much so she became a physician, and a great one at that. She is responsible for hospice—which has greatly changed the way we care for people in their last days. So important. She also had a passion to care for people dying of AIDS in the 1980s. A time when no one wanted to step foot in the room with these patients. Really, she played an instrumental role in educating and changing the way healthcare providers communicate and treat all of their sick and dying patients. That’s huge.
I definitely recommend this book for the reader who is looking to find out more about Kübler’s life versus the subject of life and death. It’s a great snapshot of all that’s she’s done or tried to accomplish at least. It shows where her heart was and is now, after all that’s she’s been through.
Ending, I will say that after reading this, I do feel more comfortable about death itself, and I left with a few good reminders about how to live in the now. So for me, it was definitely worth the read.
July 3, 2009
Totally beyond ridiculous. If this book brings someone a sense of peace, I guess that's great, but it's loaded with the most bullshit-sounding naive wishful thinking I ever laid eyes on. Fairies? Fairies! She includes evidence for fairies. Need I say more? Kubler-Ross was an amazingly kind human-being and had I known her personally, I probably would have adored her. Professionally however... she wrote about FAIRIES... I don't know what she died from, but this book provides evidence that the poor woman had a brain tumor or a lesion or something. This psychiatrist lost her marbles and this book deepened my belief that mental illness knows no boundaries more than anything having to do with an afterlife. Fairies... enough said.
October 10, 2019
vida, muerte, el mas allá y la posibilidad de la reencarnación.
April 5, 2020
Excelente libro, no se es la misma persona después de haberlo leído, una vida única llena de experiencias y enseñanzas que te dejan pensando en el verdadero sentido de la vida.
May 16, 2023
Libro autobiográfico, en el que podemos conocer un poco más de cerca la vida y la labor que Elisabeth llevó a cabo. Es un libro de fácil lectura que nos aproxima a un tema muchas veces considerado tabú, muchas otras temido y, en general, al que no sabemos enfrentarnos con naturalidad.
Elisabeth nos muestra la cara más cruda de la vida, pero no por ellos menos real y cargada de belleza, acompañando a personas en sus procesos de duelo, tanto propios, como de familiares y amigos, así como, su labor divulgativa y formativa, inspirando a nuevas generaciones de médicos a enfrentarse a esta otra cara de la profesión.
Lo que más inspira del libro es el entusiasmo, la fuerza y el empeño en llevar a cabo aquello que la autora veía con claridad, a pesar de presentarse en su vida multitud de inconvenientes y opiniones en contra.
En él se relatan experiencias cercanas a la muerte, experiencias extracorpóreas y visión de seres de otra dimensión. Sin duda, algo que puede romper nuestros esquemas y que quizás resulte demasiado fantasioso para los más escépticos, aún así, recomiendo abrirse a leer su experiencia y el legado que ha dejado.
Elisabeth nos muestra la cara más cruda de la vida, pero no por ellos menos real y cargada de belleza, acompañando a personas en sus procesos de duelo, tanto propios, como de familiares y amigos, así como, su labor divulgativa y formativa, inspirando a nuevas generaciones de médicos a enfrentarse a esta otra cara de la profesión.
Lo que más inspira del libro es el entusiasmo, la fuerza y el empeño en llevar a cabo aquello que la autora veía con claridad, a pesar de presentarse en su vida multitud de inconvenientes y opiniones en contra.
En él se relatan experiencias cercanas a la muerte, experiencias extracorpóreas y visión de seres de otra dimensión. Sin duda, algo que puede romper nuestros esquemas y que quizás resulte demasiado fantasioso para los más escépticos, aún así, recomiendo abrirse a leer su experiencia y el legado que ha dejado.
August 27, 2021
Comecei o livro sem ao menos saber o que estava lendo por ser uma leitura obrigatória da faculdade. Mal sabia eu que ia conhecer a história incrível de uma médica que não só aprendeu sobre morte com seus pacientes, como acolheu a morte como algo natural, algo que deveria ser falado. A vida dessa mulher é fantástica.
April 9, 2023
Con una narrativa fluida y bien lograda, la Dra Ross nos embarca en el viaje de su vida y sus aprendizajes sobre el vivir y el morir. Con grandes pesamientos, una mujer altruista y honesta. Algunas de sus teorías cuestionables, pero válidas. Un libro bonito.
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January 28, 2022Para quem gosta de autobiografia é uma boa indicação. Essa mulher resistente e questionadora foi a precursora do que viria a ser os cuidados paliativos atuais. Um história impressionante. Eu diria que ela conseguiu mexer com o meu olhar sobre o pós-morte.
November 3, 2022
Hmmm.
I don't think I knew very much about Kubler-Ross besides On Death and Dying. This was an interesting memoir that recounts Ross's childhood, her work with refugees during WWII and afterwards, her visit to Poland, her interviews of terminal patients, and later her involvement in Spiritism, her cosmic mystical vision, the dissolution of her marriage, her retreat centers, her care for AIDS patients, the series of strokes she had in older age, and her experience in navigating the American Industrial Medical complex as an elderly patient on Medicaid. Her stages of death and dying remain interesting to me, and she had an interesting life. I don't trust the veracity of all her claims (I think she was taken in by New Age charlatans) but this isn't to discount her openness to the mystical experiences of the dying and the world beyond the material.
I don't think I knew very much about Kubler-Ross besides On Death and Dying. This was an interesting memoir that recounts Ross's childhood, her work with refugees during WWII and afterwards, her visit to Poland, her interviews of terminal patients, and later her involvement in Spiritism, her cosmic mystical vision, the dissolution of her marriage, her retreat centers, her care for AIDS patients, the series of strokes she had in older age, and her experience in navigating the American Industrial Medical complex as an elderly patient on Medicaid. Her stages of death and dying remain interesting to me, and she had an interesting life. I don't trust the veracity of all her claims (I think she was taken in by New Age charlatans) but this isn't to discount her openness to the mystical experiences of the dying and the world beyond the material.
June 14, 2020
I absolutely loved this book. I had previously read a biography, Quest: The Life of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross by Derek L.T. Gill, which I also loved. I became famliar with EKR back in the 70's and knew her to be the On Death and Dying lady, who brought to the world the understanding of various stages one goes through when one learns of one's imminent death, but I had no idea she was so amazingly spiritual. I learned something of this in the biography but so much more in this book, The Wheel of Life. In the biography, which I also highly recommend, I learned what an amazingly compassionate, caring, hard working and driven woman she was. An amazing human being. But in this autobiography I learned so much more about her incredible connection to the spiritual side of human life. If you have a spiritual awareness of any description do not be put off by the naysayers here who say she comes across as a bit of a nut. She was an incredibly intelligent medical specialist, first an MD and then a specialist psychiatrist, for decades before she developed her highly attuned spiritual side. I found this a fascinating and beautiful book and I'm so sorry I've finished it. I will keep it and treasure. Thank you Universe for the beautiful life of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross.
February 26, 2023
4.5🌟
En general es una historia con principios básicos sobre la vida. Amor incondicional, libre albedrio, hacer el bien, la compasión, la ayuda humanitaria, la familia, las prácticas de amor hacia los enfermos terminales y la la vida desp de la muerte. En el q el fin es vivir.
Y aunque las primeras 2 partes del libro me inspiraron y me tuvieron enganchada, esa tercera en la q aparece la familia B. Aparte de que no me pinta bien y se sobreentiende que pasaron cosas realmente graves en los seminarios, me decepciona y enoja. Más allá de si existe o no el trance (cosa q si creo) no justifica.
Hacia el final esa Elizabeth que al principio tanto admiré perdió un poco, o más bien un mucho con lo q mencioné con anterioridad y su terquedad, sin embargo rescato y respeto por mucho su dedicación, tiempo, amor , lucha y compasión con la que entregó su vida al servicio de los enfermos con los que nadie queria tratar.
Y en cuanto al final apocaliptico, si ;todo ello ha ocurrido o esta ocurriendo.
Es de comentar q esta noche que terminó, soñé con ese alguien por el qur realmente leí este libro es este momento. GRACIAS!
En general es una historia con principios básicos sobre la vida. Amor incondicional, libre albedrio, hacer el bien, la compasión, la ayuda humanitaria, la familia, las prácticas de amor hacia los enfermos terminales y la la vida desp de la muerte. En el q el fin es vivir.
Y aunque las primeras 2 partes del libro me inspiraron y me tuvieron enganchada, esa tercera en la q aparece la familia B. Aparte de que no me pinta bien y se sobreentiende que pasaron cosas realmente graves en los seminarios, me decepciona y enoja. Más allá de si existe o no el trance (cosa q si creo) no justifica.
Hacia el final esa Elizabeth que al principio tanto admiré perdió un poco, o más bien un mucho con lo q mencioné con anterioridad y su terquedad, sin embargo rescato y respeto por mucho su dedicación, tiempo, amor , lucha y compasión con la que entregó su vida al servicio de los enfermos con los que nadie queria tratar.
Y en cuanto al final apocaliptico, si ;todo ello ha ocurrido o esta ocurriendo.
Es de comentar q esta noche que terminó, soñé con ese alguien por el qur realmente leí este libro es este momento. GRACIAS!
July 28, 2009
What a crazy book! She is a character! ...starts out with all her service experiences in Europe, adventures and you are thinking this woman is like another Mother Theresa, then her work on death and dying--she's a very venerable and compassionate doctor (she is the one who first described the grieving process shock, denial, bargaining, depression, acceptance)--then she gets into near death experiences--she was a pioneer in that field as well, and I'm still with her and THEN all of a sudden she's taking pictures of fairies and attending seances and talking to ghosts. HOLY COW! She's all over the map, but I was never bored and I was often surprised. She was definitely a very open-minded woman, forceful, opinionated, an inspiration. Of course, this is HER take on things...I'd like to hear her husband's perspective...See if she is for real...
August 15, 2007
I found this book to be completely whacky. I knew of Kubler-Ross because of her earlier book On Death and Dying and was completely blindsided by her tales of lessons from various ghost companions and, in my opinion, compeletely nutty spiritualism. I was just expecting something more academic and grounded in evidence. I wish I had read the other first as I lost all appetite for her work after this book.
July 1, 2021
Kübler-Ross, considerada la mare dels paliatius pediàtrics, la primera persona en preocupar-se per abordar de manera humana la mort, el procés de morir i el dol. Als hospitals i a la vida.
Imprescindible per valorar tot el camí que va fer aquest tros de dona i que molts ens hem trobat ja fet i podem aplicar.
Un llibre que sobretot, parla de la vida.
Regal d'una mestra, en un moment molt especial d'aquest camí d'aprenentatge que ara recórrec. 😊
Imprescindible per valorar tot el camí que va fer aquest tros de dona i que molts ens hem trobat ja fet i podem aplicar.
Un llibre que sobretot, parla de la vida.
Regal d'una mestra, en un moment molt especial d'aquest camí d'aprenentatge que ara recórrec. 😊
June 4, 2010
I never finished the last section of this book and I guess I really didn't like it all that much to even try. There were parts of the book I liked, but it was just strange for the most part. I might have been a little generous with my star.
I'm officially moving this to read, as I don't really care to finish.
I'm officially moving this to read, as I don't really care to finish.
January 19, 2016
El primero de los libros que me introdujeron al mundo de la "Logoterapia" y la busqueda del sentido en la vida. Formo parte de mi Diplomado Auto-Didacta en Tanatologia y los procesos de Duelo. Morir no es tan grave, es solo una etapa mas de la vida. Gracias a mi papa por "olvidar" estos libros cerca de mi librero. Muy recomendable cuando alguien ha sufrido una perdida.
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