This Day Won't Come Again: Radical Presence and Life-Threatening Illness

(Paperback)

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For readers touched by Paul Kalanithis When Breath Becomes Air and anyone with a life-threatening illness seeking healing of body, mind, and spirit, a fellow patient shares her journey of choosing to have the best day of her life by working as though she will live and living every moment as though she might die.

Waking to the stunning realization she had cancer, Jocelyn Rasmussens first thought was that she needed a miracle. Her second thought was that she didnt want to die with any unspent love or grace inside her. Guided by this principle, she entered treatment with faith that she could accept any outcomefrom a complete remission to death.

As Rasmussen underwent chemotherapy and radiation, she plunged into the mysteries and certainties of life and death. All of creation, nature and humanity, became fodder for her reflections about healing, time, hope, dreaming, and loving. The deeper she went, the more she realized she was already living the miracle shed asked for. It was being revealed in every sacred moment of her lifeshe simply hadnt always recognized it. Life, she discovered, was radiant with the light of wisdom, the strong and gentle touch of caregiving, the gratitude for another breath, and the surprise of all that was arising.

Tender and uplifting, This Day Wont Come Again will encourage you to trust your own radiance and allow it to guide you into the unique meaning and purpose that is yours to share as you navigate treatment or caregiving for life-threatening illness.

Reviews

In a relatable book about our human experience, Jocelyn exemplifies that if you love life, you have to love all of it, come what may. She has embraced this concept fully. She lives it, and graciously shares it. I have always said that Jocelyn is lit from within, and with this book she shines her light on us. Told with heartfelt flourish and clear-eyed honesty, its a lesson on how to live.Debra McGrath, actress and comedian

Through the discords of cancer, Jocelyn invites us to listen for the bright, tender, and vibrant notes that carry humanity through our joy and woe.With breathtaking insight, Jocelyns personal story, her song of life, inspires.Whatever we are going through, Jocelyn reminds us, we are not alone.Jeffrey Crittenden, PhD, founding director of the Centre for Practical Theology and author ofLeisure Resurrected

Every question, thought, regret, doubt, hope, and fear aroused by a cancer diagnosis is caught, examined, and reframed in this book. What began as a series of talks about Jocelyns own dire experience with ovarian cancer is unflinching yet takes shape as a surprisingly practical handbook for how to embrace the many miraclesfrom the spiritual to the scientificthat enable living with and beyond cancer. This Day Wont Come Again is a tonic for nurturing creativity through the life of the body even if you havent had or never will have cancer.Dawn Morgan, cancer survivor and author of Unsettled: A Reckoning on the Great Plains

This book is a revelation and a remarkable offering, not only for those facing cancer but also for anyone grappling with lifes challenges. With startling honesty, humor, and a lovely compassion for the human experience, Jocelyn offers rare insight into illness and healing and encourages a new way of seeingfor readers on their own brave journeys.Christen Shepherd, death doula and coauthor of The Promise: Truth from the Trenches of Adoption

My wife passed away from cancer at the age of fifty-nine in 2013. I think both she and I would have dealt with her disease better if we had been able to read This Day Wont Come Again. I hope the book will help others facing cancer to find meaning in their lives.James Olson, PhD, professor of psychology at Western University Ontario

Scattering her gems of insight with generous abandon, Jocelyn has lessons for all of us, for regardless of whether or not we have personal experience with illness, it is something that touches us all. . . . Guiding her listeners through tough spiritual terrain, Jocelyn encourages us to embrace the journey, always secure in the knowledge that we are not alone.Maria L. Case, composer and artistic director of The Annex Singers

Author Bio

Jocelyn Rasmussen is a singer, composer, and teacher. Her first book, Meant to Be Heard, maps the human voice and its potential for transformation. She has recorded two albums of original songs, Just Love Away and Singing Is Praying Twice. For over twenty years she taught singing and executive voice coaching in seminars and private sessions in New York City. She continues that work in Toronto and London, Ontario, where she lives with her partner, Doug Thompson.