Prescription for Joy

When Ruth's mother made her long-distance telepathic “call” to her, it ignited a mystical connection between them. In her sometimes humorous but always thought-provoking style, Ruth shares the amazing time spent with her mother as she was dying in a nursing home, in the care of hospice. Sprinkled with reflections on relationships (human and divine) and experiences (practical and mystical), this is an eye-opening testament to the opportunities for learning and growth that are a part of both living and dying.
Being blessed to be one of those called to the work of hospice, Ruth has a special connection to the sacred relationship between the living and the dead. And while sharing the intimate details of their time together, she is always mindful of the diverse belief systems of those who may turn to this book in the midst of their own grief.

Ruth asserts that the “mother-link” was established through dreams (before, during, and after her mother’s death). She shares her reflections on that time, not only to encourage us to bring death (and the mysteries that surround it) into our everyday conversations, but to remind us to recognize and honor whom and what we have in our lives at this very moment. We’re all finite beings on a temporary assignment on Earth. Ruth's clear message is to embrace life now.

ENDORSEMENT

"The newest addition to Ruth's creations is a book about her time with her own mother as she completed her time on this Earth. Few organizations have changed our culture’s perception as dynamically as hospice. In the midst of messages of avoidance and denial, hospice welcomes the dying and teaches the living the values—and methods—of creating sacred havens of transition for those who are leaving the body. 

Ruth Williams’ new book is testimony to the power of being present during another’s transition. In her own words, Williams has made an “offering.” And it does indeed read as such.

The title, Return to Mother, Returning Home, has multiple levels of meaning. Williams writes with skill, poignancy, and honesty of the last days of her mother’s life. She connects the actual events and stages of her mother’s dying process with observations by the therapist, mystic, and professional grief counselor she is. The book is intimate and provocative, never glossing over the challenging parts of the process and often elevating them with sharp perceptions about the coming and going of souls and their pathways between worlds.

This is a courageous story of two women, mother and daughter, sharing time and space between here and there, this home and another. It is a book for those who desire to be fully present with one who is leaving the earth body and are willing to reexamine their own perceptions of life, death, and relationships." Gloria Karpinski , author of  Where Two Worlds Touch and Barefoot on Holy Ground