Memento Mori

The Art of Contemplating Death to Live a Better Life

By: Joanna Ebenstein

Narrated by: Joanna Ebenstein

A transformative guide to embrace your own mortality and live a more fulfilling life

Talking about death has been deemed morbid, taboo, or even pathological. But in order to fully embrace life, scientists, psychologists, and spiritual leaders all agree—contemplating death is the key to living a life with meaning.

This life-changing book will give you a 12-week program to befriend death in your own way, creating your own personal, daily meditation on what it means to be mortal. Through personal anecdotes, historical examples, meditations, exercises, journal prompts, and reflections, you will learn to both come to terms with what death means and to live alongside it without fear. In doing so, you will see your own life in a new light and discover what makes life worth living. After all, there’s no better motivation to seize the day than a regular reminder that your days are numbered.

Whether you're struggling with anxiety, grieving a loved one, or seeking a greater sense of purpose, Memento Mori is an invaluable guide to living a life of greater meaning and joy.

* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF that contains the Appendix: Resources and Going Forward section from the printed book.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2024 Joanna Ebenstein (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Joanna Ebenstein has studied, and more importantly, lived this practice of death engagement for decades. This makes her one of the people I most trust to guide us through the pain, joy, fear, and ultimate euphoria of facing our own mortality."—Caitlin Doughty, New York Times bestselling author and founder of Order of the Good Death

"There could be no better guide than Joanna Ebenstein to the enriching and startlingly uplifting benefits of confronting our mortality. This wonderfully readable, witty, practical yet philosophically profound book has the power shift your perspective and lead you into a more intense experience of life."–Oliver Burkeman, New York Times bestselling author of Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals

"A thoughtful, erudite survey through history and across cultures for all of us who wonder about death in order to lead more meaningful lives."—Steve Leder, New York Times bestselling author of The Beauty of What Remains and For You When I Am Gone

Enlightening

I think about death a lot. But not in a bad way. In the way that this book talks about. In a way that makes me want to make the most of this life. There were so many insights and recommendations about how to use death as a motivator for life, I can’t wait to relisten and go deeper.

Enlightening and transformative.

I have long struggled to find meaning in the art I create and to understand why I am so deeply drawn to the themes that compel me. This book has been an incredibly enlightening guide in this personal exploration.

Through its beautifully curated imagery and thoughtful essays, the book dives deeply into the cultural and historical significance of mortality as a theme in art. Ebenstein masterfully weaves together an understanding of death’s role in shaping human creativity, philosophy, and even spirituality. Her work is not just an academic study, but a profoundly emotional journey that resonates with anyone grappling with life’s impermanence and its artistic expression.

What sets this book apart is its ability to strike a balance between the macabre and the meaningful. Ebenstein invites readers to view death not as something to fear, but as a lens through which to appreciate the beauty of existence and the universality of the human experience. As someone who has often felt called to explore darker themes in my own art, this book has helped me make sense of my inclinations and find a deeper purpose in my work.