Engraved In Stone

ENGRAVED IN STONE features the wit and wisdom of more than 150 epitaphs from film stars, outlaws, novelists, politicians, artists, gunfighters, explorers, musicians, plus a lot of other people you'll never meet; but maybe wish you had!

"I wrote this book for four principal reasons. First and foremost, as a fundraiser for hospice care; secondly,

to raise awareness of the wonderful work done by so many selfless volunteers giving care and comfort to the dying, to amuse and entertain. Lastly, I hope that reading the book will inspire you to reflect on how you want to live your life and be remembered.

To give care and comfort to the dying is important work. It is the kind of work that defines our essential humanity. So a book of epitaphs - many of them flippant and humorous - might seem like an odd, some might say disrespectful, way to pay tribute to those who are both the agents and beneficiaries of hospice care. Yet death is the one unavoidable reality. It is the endpoint at which our lives achieve a final perspective. And epitaphs, I believe, are simply an expression of this. They are ultimately celebratory and life-affirming.

So I hope that in reading this book, you will find time to pause (with the occasional smile), and consider the wonderful legacy of those who have left us.