{"product_id":"near-the-exit-travels-with-the-not-so-grim-reaper-9780664265670","title":"Near the Exit: Travels with the Not-So-Grim Reaper","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"This book's journey to spiritual places near and far is worth taking.\" -- Library Journal, starred review \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLori Erickson travels to \"grim\" locations at home and abroad and explores death through the lenses of other cultures. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter her brother died unexpectedly and her mother moved into a dementia-care facility, spiritual travel writer and Episcopal deacon Lori Erickson felt called to a new quest: to face death head on, with the eye of a tourist and the heart of one who is grieving and facing mortality.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBlending memoir, spirituality, and travel, \u003ci\u003eNear the Exit\u003c\/i\u003e examines how different cultures past and present have confronted and still confront death, from Egypt's Valley of the Kings and Mayan temples, to a Colorado cremation pyre and Mexico's Day of the Dead celebrations, to Maori settlements and tourist-destination graveyards. Erickson reflects on mortality--the ways we avoid it, the ways we cope with it, and the ways life is made more precious by accepting it--in places as far away and exotic as New Zealand and as close and \"mundane\" as the nursing home up the street. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThroughout her personal journey and her travels, Erickson helps us to see that one of the most life-affirming things we can do is to invite death along for the ride.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePerfect for book clubs! Download the FREE Reader Guide: Questions and Topics for Discussion! \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eErickson, Lori:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLori Erickson\u003c\/strong\u003e is one of America's top travel writers specializing in spiritual journeys. She is the author of \u003cem\u003eNear the Exit: Travels with the Not-So-Grim Reaper \u003c\/em\u003e(which won a Silver INDIES Award for 2019 Religion Book of the Year from \u003cem\u003eForeword Reviews\u003c\/em\u003e) and \u003cem\u003eHoly Rover: Journeys in Search of Mystery, Miracles, and God\u003c\/em\u003e. Her writing has appeared in the \u003cem\u003eLos Angeles Times, National Geographic Traveler, \u003c\/em\u003eand\u003cem\u003e Better Homes \u0026amp; Gardens\u003c\/em\u003e, among others. She lives in Iowa City, Iowa, with her husband.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Westminster John Knox Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50491851735314,"sku":"9780664265670","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_6d951706-80ec-4e84-8ef1-05fbbfc41564.jpg?v=1730559705","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/near-the-exit-travels-with-the-not-so-grim-reaper-9780664265670","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}