Summary

This chapter is the last chapter of the section dedicated to obstacles to joy. Fittingly, Abrams devotes this chapter to one of the most difficult human experiences to talk about - death. Almost everyone can relate to the suffering of illnesses or the death of a loved one, but one’s own death is a challenging topic to discuss. The Dalai Lama and Archbishop Tutu choose to approach this emotion as they do with previous emotions in their discussion, with humor and humility.

The Archbishop confronts death in a very straightforward manner, claiming that it is merely a fact of life. “I have had a beginning, I’ve had a middle, and I’ll have an end. There is a lovely symmetry about it,” he exclaims (162). The Archbishop sees death the same way he...