Kimberly Harms

Are You Ready? How to Win a Legacy to Die For is part memoir, part guidebook by author Dr Kimberly Harms. Divided into three parts, the book is designed to help people maximise use of their time between birth and death. In part one, Dr Harms tells her personal story. She describes how she was born with only seven fingers and some spinal abnormalities, her mother’s mental health issues and later suicide, her father’s remarriage and experience of abandonment, her education and career successes, her marriage to Jim and motherhood, and the tragic loss of her son to suicide.  Dr Harms believes that her ability to flourish and thrive as an adult, despite the losses she suffered, was as a result of her mother’s unconditional love.  She discusses the importance of building legacies, such as love, hard work, resilience and laughter. Part two, focuses on the process of death itself and individual choices at the end of life. Dr Harms discusses how to work towards a good death and changing perceptions of death and dying, including research on near death experiences. In part three, Dr Harms explores the process of transition, and how to help and prepare loved ones to move forward following your death. She provides a number of tools and checklists to help prepare others, and how to create a positive legacy, through gratitude, legacy-love, reconciliation and apology letters.

Are You Ready? How to Win a Legacy to Die For is a heartfelt and deeply moving memoir by Dr Kimberly Harms, and an insightful and inspiring guidebook to help people prepare for their own death. In many cultures death remains a taboo subject, but as Benjamin Franklin put it, there are only two certainties in life - death and taxes. Dr Harms goal is to pass on some of the learnings from her own life experiences, to help others through their own trauma, and to help them prepare others for their death. In doing so, Dr Harms opens up conversations about death and dying, helping to break down the barriers of this often taboo subject. Dr Kimberly Harms story is extraordinary, and her journey to finding peace, love and contentment, will help readers who may have experienced similar abandonment or trauma. Written with empathy, insight, and humor, the book is both a good read and a valuable resource.

Star rating: 5 Stars 

Summary: A deeply moving and inspiring book about death and dying. An essential read to help individuals and their families take control of the end-of-life journey.