Sensei Koshin Paley Ellison’s Wholehearted highlights the transformative power of compassion and shared suffering in end-of-life care. Raised amidst the AIDS pandemic, he emphasizes commitment and connection, encouraging readers to embrace moments of happiness.

Barbara Becker's Heartwood explores the intersection of life and death, inspired by her journey through a friend's terminal illness and the lessons on living fully in the face of mortality. It encourages embracing death as a teacher to live with heightened awareness.