"When French philosopher Paul Ricoeur died in 2005, he bequeathed to the world a highly regarded, widely influential body of work which established him as one of the greatest thinkers of our time. ... [book title] consists of one major essay and nine fragments. Composed in 1996, the essay is the kernal of an unrealized book on the subject of mortality. Likely inspired by his wife's approaching death, it examines not one's own passing but one's experience of others dying. ... [book title] is a moving testimony to Ricoeur's willingness to confront his own mortality with serious questions, a touching insouciance, and hope for the future."--Book jacket.