Perhaps the weightiest topic there is is the one that we all must face: death. Much of our lives can be spent evading this reality until it comes crashing into our lives somehow. What might it look like to adopt a posture towards death that not only makes us more prepared, but helps us live life more abundantly? To engage this question, we welcome Dana Trent!

Dana Trent is a graduate of Duke Divinity School and professor of World Religions and Critical Thinking at Wake Tech Community College. An ordained Baptist minister, Dana served as a hospital chaplain in what is known as the “death ward,” where she accompanied individuals and their families through the passage from life to death. Inspired by this experience, as well as the death of her mother, she authored the book “Dessert First: Preparing for Death While Savoring Life,” where she reflects on this experience and her lessons from it.

In her conversation with Chris and Eddie, Dana discusses how churches and individuals can engage the topic of death and grief in a more meaningful way, especially with the backdrop of a deadly pandemic. She also helps us consider how “humor and tears are not mutually exclusive” and how even in the midst of grief and death, joy and levity can be found.

RESOURCES:

Dana Trent’s Book “Dessert First: Preparing for Death While Savoring Life”

https://www.amazon.com/Dessert-First-Preparing-Death-Savoring/dp/0827206690

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Dana Trent on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaB690iTPH2896cywwyh3Jg

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Dana Trent on the web: https://jdanatrent.com/

Embodied Grace (Cambridge)