Book excerpt: In contrast to religious traditions that attempt to shield us from death by promising eternal life or by denying or demeaning physical existence, Glaser looks at death directly and with appreciation for what it teaches us about life. Death is an inscrutable and even stern Zen master ready to teach us, a spiritual director eager to inspire us, a soul-friend reminding us that our lifespan has sacred worth. Glaser writes movingly of the deaths that have shaped his soul, whether those deaths occurred through assassination, murder, suicide, accident, divorce, illness, or AIDS. A few deaths were especially transforming and personal, and all will open readers’ hearts to their own discoveries when facing The Final Deadline.