Product Description

Melody Rossi saw God work in the hearts of three close family members who died within twenty- eight months of each other, spurring her to write this book. When she had nearly given up hope that they might believe, she was amazed to find their hearts softened to the gospel message, turning her mourning to joy as she witnessed their spiritual births. This practical book lovingly prepares believers to talk to family and friends about Jesus. It sustains the reader engaged in providing spiritual care, answers questions about end-of-life issues, and helps provide closure as it addresses issues of grief and loss.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #713638 in Books
• Published on: 2007-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780764203558
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"This book will uplift anyone curious about transitioning out of this life." -- Patty Inglish, armchairinterviews.com

"... simply written and easy to understand .... Ms. Rossi offers practical guidance wrought through her own experiences." -- Debra Gaynor, readerviews.com

About the Author
MELODY ROSSI, a trained opera singer, has performed with numerous opera companies in venues ranging from the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., to the Vatican in Rome. During her singing career she was a regular soloist at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California. In 1994 Melody suffered a surgical error that nearly took her life. Her long recovery became a pivotal point in her Christian walk and gave her tremendous compassion for those suffering from serious illness. After her recovery Melody taught in inner-city schools, where she began to see the tremendous needs of urban adolescents and teens. Subsequently she founded Cloud and Fire Ministries, an organization that evangelizes, disciples, and educates at-risk youths. Her writing has appeared in several publications. Melody and her husband live in Granada Hills, California.

Customer Reviews

A beautiful, personal book for every Christian's library
From the first story in May I Walk You Home?, I was hooked. Rossi shares experiences and ideas in a personal, heartfelt manner. I've already recommended this book to Hospice organizations within my state, and to local churches. I'm planning to give away several copies in the next few months, too.

Watching a loved one die is difficult enough, but when that person doesn't know Jesus, it's even harder. This book helps you share your faith when someone is on their deathbed. Rossi's experiences provide the ultimate help, because she's "been there, done that."

A must-read for every Christian.

Easy to understand
Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (6/07)

"May I Walk You Home?," by Melody Rossi, is a message written from firsthand experience. Ms. Rossi experienced the loss of her mother, her stepmother and father within a twenty-eight month span. God used Ms. Rossi and their fatal illnesses to guide all three in giving their hearts to Christ. Losing someone you love always hurts, but the pain is eased when you know he or she found peace with the Lord.

Ms. Rossi was given the opportunity to serve Christ and to serve her loved ones as they went through the dying process. She took them to "doctor appointments, ran errands, and made meals. She also showed them the love of Jesus Christ through her actions, prayer, and words." "Because Jesus came to the world as a servant, it makes total sense that He would use this technique as a powerful way to reach the lost."

This book is divided into four sections; each area is divided into chapters. The first section discusses the call to serve. We never know how God will use us or when. He uses the least likely. The second section is directions to lead you in your service. Having a loved one approach death will drain you spiritually, emotionally, and physically. The third section stresses that once you have begun this journey there is no turning back. You should think very seriously before you begin, for it will make demands on you. The last section discusses the "Journey's End." Ms. Rossi shares the physical, the spiritual and emotional changes that take place when death in imminent. There is a need to mend fences; there is an emotional acceptance and a physical letting go.

"May I Walk You Home?," by Melody Rossi, is simply written and easy to understand. Death is a topic most people avoid. However, Ms. Rossi offers practical guidance wrought through her own experiences. The cover is beautifully done with a leaf-strewn path. I learned much from this book and I am glad I read it. It is rewarding to know that Ms. Rossi used the knowledge she gained from the death of several loved ones to serve the Lord and assist others. I highly recommend this book to those working with Hospice, hospitals, nursing homes and those who know someone facing a terminal illness.

For those now caring for the dying, it's well worth reading --- even if death is imminent
Death isn't exactly something we enjoy talking about, and we tend to put off the discussion until circumstances force us to face its reality. All too often, by then it's too late, or very nearly so. That's why, as soon as a loved one has been diagnosed with a terminal illness, we need to get the conversation started --- and that's when a book like Melody Rossi's MAY I WALK YOU HOME? becomes an indispensable and invaluable resource.

Divided into four sections that parallel the journey from the initial diagnosis to the grief that lives on long after the patient has died, the book wastes little time and few words. Rossi chooses to plunge right in and offer immediate support and guidance to those who are reeling from the impending loss of a loved one. And she's wise in doing so. When a loved one --- or anyone in your sphere of influence --- is dying, you need help, and you need it now. Rossi packs a great deal of information and encouragement into this well-organized, 100-page volume. Caregivers should have no problem finding the help they need at the moment they need it.

The first section describes Rossi's experiences with the deaths of her parents, her stepmother and a close friend, all within a short time span, and how life came to be defined in two segments: before and after each diagnosis. That, she says, is to be expected, and trying to live from any other perspective is a form of denial. But she believes the post-diagnosis segment also can be a time of tremendous spiritual opportunity, a time when the dying --- even those who had been hostile toward faith --- are frequently open to God's activity in their lives. They experience that activity in any number of ways, with one of the most effective ways being our willingness to serve them and try to meet their very real needs.

Part two offers the tools you'll need to care for your loved one (and yourself), and here Rossi makes the journey metaphor a tangible one by describing the equipment you'll need: a roadmap to help you keep the destination in mind, proper shoes for the rugged path you'll be walking, access to GPS (God's Positioning System) for course corrections along the way, emergency information (in a chapter that includes one of the best suggestions I've seen for organizing vital data) and "traveler's assistance," guidance on creating a support team that can include friends and family, Internet groups, local chapters of disease-specific organizations such as the American Cancer Society, and --- the one nearest to my heart --- nonprofit hospice services. Like Rossi, as a hospice volunteer, the only regret I've heard caregivers utter with regard to hospice is that they didn't avail themselves of the service sooner.

The third section includes an important chapter on spiritual warfare, something too often overlooked in other books on death and dying. Those who are dying sometimes undergo such extreme personality changes that they send their caregivers packing; a normally docile patient can become hateful and belligerent, using language that would have made them blush only months earlier. (Whether or not this is a spiritual problem, if spiritual warfare is what it takes to get you through it, then I say go for it.) Chapters in this section also cover endurance, with a critically important reminder that caregiving is a choice; a look at God's covenants and how they apply to care for the dying; and the main points to consider when making funeral arrangements.

Part four covers the death itself and the grief that follows. Two of the most important topics in the book appear here: one, the spiritual topic of forgiveness, and the second, the physical signs of imminent death. The first is vital, because any lingering unforgiveness between you and your loved one robs both of you of the peace that the patient needs now and that you will need for the rest of your life. The second will help you not only to prepare for the patient's death but also to make sense of the sometimes puzzling behavior of one who is dying.

It's unlikely that you'll pick up this book and read it unless someone near to you is terminally ill. But you may want to make note of the title --- because someday, you may be in the position of caring for someone who is dying, and when that day comes, you may find that MAY I WALK YOU HOME? has become your constant companion. For those now caring for the dying, it's well worth reading --- even if death is imminent.

--- Reviewed by Marcia Ford