5.0 out of 5 stars A guide to entering the twilight of one’s life and living it with calmness and dignity | November 8, 2010, By Midwest Book Review
“A good passing is one that isn’t chaotic. “Exit Strategy: Leaving this Life with Grace and Gratitude” is a guide to entering the twilight of one’s life and living it with calmness and dignity that so often eludes those who are near passing. Drawing on author Kelsey Collins own experience with advice on the many aspects of old age, “Exit Strategy” asks many questions and offers many answers.”
This book is a loving tribute to Bee Landis, showing her spunk, humor and wisdom. Bee was a blessing to everyone who met her. We all remember her with love.
Louise Hay, author of You Can Heal Your Life.
No one knows Bee and her light and wisdom as well as Kelsey Collins. Exit Strategy captures all that is Bee and the messages she sends to the world. My own exit strategy has changed because of Bee’s message and she taught me that growing old can be pretty cool.
Jerry Vaculin, Executive Director, Bishop Care Center
From the delightful “Bee-isms” to the profound wisdom spoken by a sage elder, author Kelsey Collins skillfully shares with us the joy of truly knowing another human being in a spiritual and intimate way. She reminds us of the often forgotten riches that reside in the beings of the elderly. Through her writing, she encourages us to “adopt an elder” as she adopted her friend and mentor, Bee. Ron Scolastico, Ph.D., Author of The Earth Adventure and Becoming Enlightened
A tour de force for our time, Exit Strategy: Leaving this Life with Grace and Gratitude, is equally compelling as an antidote to American cultural misgivings about aging and death as it is a model for every caregiver of the elderly and dying. With deft writing, Kelsey Collins captures the psychological and spiritual processes that lead to a “good” death. Her experiences also open avenues for reflection and discussion about how to plan for dying and death. The extraordinary examples set by Collins and her elderly adoptee, Bee, will linger long after the book is closed.
Lois A. Vitt, Ph.D., Financial Gerontologist
Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Retirement and Finance
In the west especially, we have long tended to view death and dying as subjects to avoid, as if ignoring them would make them go away. The challenge is even worse with our elders. Not since the Levine’s brilliantly asked us to examine what we’d do differently if we knew we had only a year left to live has anyone so courageously tackled the subjects of death, dying and the how-to’s of living to and through the transition.
Terrance W. Dushenko, Ph.D., Director, Dept. of Behavioral Medicine, St. Mary Medical Center,Long Beach, California/President/CEO, Soul Purpose and Health Psychology Associates
