Best Books About Death [Top 10 Recommendations] [2024 Update]

What are the best books on the theme: dying and death? In this article you will find our top 10 with recommendations that can be very useful for both children and adults. Read along…

The top 10 books on death and what goes with it

You prefer not to think about it, but it still awaits us all. Death affects you, your parents, your children and others around you. You can read about what leads to death and how to deal with it in the following books. We start our recommendations with the top 10 best books about Death of all time. This list has been updated this year, including all the recent titles.

Best Books About Death	Author
Gone from My Sight: The Dying Experience	Barbara Karnes, RN
On Death and Dying	Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
On Grief and Grieving	David Kessler
Being Mortal	Atul Gawande
It’s Ok That You’re Not OK	Megan Devine
When Breath Becomes	Paul Kalanithi
The Good Death	Ann Neumann
Advice For Future Corpses	Sallie Tisdale
In the Slender Margin	Eve Johnson
How We Die	Sherwin B. Nuland

The updated top 10 list: the best books about death

When Someone Dies: A Book about Death for Kids who are Curious or who are Experiencing a Death

This is not a big book, and that is because it is for children. It explains what death is and how we handle death. Feelings that we are faced with when someone dies or has died are talked about in a way that is understandable for children.

After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond

Have you ever talked to someone who had a near-death experience? They can tell you vividly about what they have seen and felt. ‘After’ is written by an expert, Dr. Bruce Greyson, who has investigated many cases of people who had a near-death experience when their heart stopped.

Finding the Words: How to Talk with Children and Teens About Death, Suicide, Homicide, Funerals, Cremation, and Other End-of-Life Matters

This is also a book for children and teenagers, but now on the subject of how to talk about any death-related event with them. How did someone die? Why are they buried or cremated? These are all topics in ‘Finding the Words’.

Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife

When a neurosurgeon has a near-death experience and meets an angel, his story must be shared. He now believes that death is not the end of someone, and he shares his personal experiences and beliefs with you in ‘Proof of Heaven’.

Death’s Acre: Inside the Legendary Forensic Lab the Body Farm Where the Dead Do Tell Tales

We don’t think this is a book for just everyone, because the main subject in ‘Death’s Acre’ is the ‘Body Farm’ in Tennessee. This is where dead bodies decompose naturally, without being buried, and William Bass writes on his most famous cases. (warning: includes photographs)

The Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully

If you are interested in the lessons that lie in dying, then we suggest reading this book by Frank Ostaseski. No-one can escape death, but what if the knowledge of dying one day can bring something positive to the period that we spend living on this earth?

A Book About Death: For Children and Their Adults: About Jesus and the Process of Death and Dying

This book is both for children and adults, and it is written with the Old and New Testaments in the back of the writer’s mind.

Answers about the Afterlife: A Private Investigator’s 15-Year Research Unlocks the Mysteries of Life after Death

It took Bob Olson 15 years of research into life after death, before he started writing this book. It states 150 frequently asked questions on death and its answers. What we like about this book is that it will be able to support someone who has a fear of death.

Into the Light: Real Life Stories About Angelic Visits, Visions of the Afterlife, and Other Pre-Death Experiences

Dr. John Lerma deals with death on a regular basis when taking care of terminally-ill patients. His personal experience and research on the death of 16 people (both adults and children) is brought together in this book. What he reveals in ‘Into the Light’ will surprise most of you.

From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death

If you are interested in how other cultures deal with death and care for the dead, then we can recommend this book by Caitlin Doughty. She writes from a mortician’s point of view, which can be fascinating and strange at the same time.