"From the moment we are born we begin the journey to our inevitable death, and yet death is something we try not to think about. But from childhood, then as a psychologist, a morgue assistant, a physician, and finally as a patient, Samuel LeBaron has never stopped thinking about death. His unflinching gaze and profound insight, together with his lyrical and even rapturous prose, remind us that life is precious and poignant precisely because it ends. Simply put, Ordinary Deaths is extraordinary."--Abraham Verghese, author of Cutting for Stone "If we consider death at all, we tend to load it with drama--but the truth of death is more accessible, and less terrifying, if we'd only dare to look. Using his considerable imagination and experience, Samuel helps us to see the truth before us: profound and plain." --BJ Miller, physician, author "Ordinary Deaths is a memoir that illuminates difficult topics of pain, illness, and death with the kindness of curiosity, converting these fearsome mysteries into shared experience. Samuel LeBaron proves we take comfort in communion, whether we are a five year-old facing bone marrow testing or the author, who himself is living with stage four lung cancer.

LeBaron's work in psychology and medicine, like his prose, is dappled with a naturalist's gift for noticing." --Elee Kraljii Gardiner, editor of Against Death: 35 Essays on Living "Dr. LeBaron balances compassion, emotional connection, and knowledge as he bravely confronts, and learns from, mortal illness in nature, patients, those he loves, and ultimately in himself. He shows how life and death are inextricably linked and invites us to appreciate that we are truly part of a spiral that connects us with each other on the deepest human level. In Ordinary Deaths, readers will find honesty, wisdom, and grace." Dr. Joseph D. Stern, author of Grief Connects Us: A Neurosurgeon's Lessons on Love, Loss, and Compassion.