The Top Five Regrets of the Dying: A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars | 5,026 ratings

Price: 17.05

Last update: 01-10-2025


About this item

After too many years of unfulfilling work, Bronnie Ware began searching for a job with meaning. Despite having no formal qualifications or experience, she found herself working in palliative care. During the time she spent tending to the needs of those who were dying, Bronnie's life was transformed. Later, she wrote a blog post about the most common regrets that the people she had cared for had expressed to her. The post gained so much momentum that it was viewed by more than three million people worldwide in its first year. At the request of many, she now shares her personal story. By applying the lessons of those nearing their death to her own life, Bronnie developed an understanding that it is possible for everyone, if they make conscious choices, to die with peace of mind. The Top Five Regrets of the Dying: A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing is a delightful memoir and a courageous, life-changing audiobook that will leave you feeling more compassionate and inspired to live the life you are truly here to live.

Top reviews from the United States

  • Eric Mayforth
    5.0 out of 5 stars Live a Life That You Will Not Regret
    Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2019
    The end of a year is a common time to take stock—especially so this year as we embark on a new decade this Wednesday. Depending on your age, you have more or fewer opportunities to make changes and improvements at such a time. Australian author Bronnie Ware worked as a caregiver for the dying, and the people she cared for knew that there would be no new years or decades for them. They had to come to terms with what had happened in their lives that they wished hadn't, or what hadn't happened that they wished had. Ware shares their stories in "The Top Five Regrets of the Dying."

    Ware realized that many of the same regrets came up over and over from those she cared for. They are:

    * "I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me."
    * "I wish I hadn't worked so hard."
    * "I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings."
    * "I wish I'd stayed in touch with my friends."
    * "I wish I'd let myself be happier."

    The elderly that Ware cared for make many recommendations to the reader, including resolving family conflicts to the extent that is possible, taking care of your health so you can live life to the fullest, striking a balance where money and simplicity are concerned, looking at every day as a gift, maintaining a sense of self, and realizing that your life is your own and not someone else's. One affluent woman envied her daughter's having the courage to live the way she wanted to against the opinions of society. Another one of Ware's charges regretted being married to a controlling spouse and not traveling to other regions or countries.

    The stories in "Top Five Regrets" are moving and the book is well worth reading. It implores the reader, especially young readers, to realize that what you think you will regret when you are young is not what you will eventually come to regret at some point on the road from 25 and 75 and to order your life so that your regrets are fewer when it comes time to die.
  • TK
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
    Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2024
    I usually listen to audiobooks and this was no exception, but I loved it so much. I bought a paper copy too!
  • her healthy style
    4.0 out of 5 stars Overall a great book.
    Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2023
    There are a lot of good life insights and reminders in this book. It's one you could read every 6 months to a year or so if you need a reminder as to what is important in life. A lot of it is the author talking about her life and it felt lengthy or repetitive at times, but it's her life story and her book. Overall a good read.
  • Lisa L.
    5.0 out of 5 stars smile and know
    Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2024
    Wisdom shared by the dying and by Bronnie. The precious seed of love and light beneath the harsh exterior of our beliefs, our programming, and our fears, finds gratitude and happiness underneath. Bronnie describes well the deep dive to get underneath using her experience with the dying. Quite a journey! Smile and know it’s possible.
  • Brad
    3.0 out of 5 stars Mixed feelings
    Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2011
    I had high hopes for this book. The concept really appealed to me. Unfortunately though, I just didn't feel like the concept was very well executed. Don't get me wrong, there's some really great parts in it but I just feel like it fell short of my expectations. I just felt like there was WAY too much storytelling about the authors own personal life and not enough tales from the lives of those who were spending their last days on this earth. I would say it's about 75% about the author's life and 25% about the people who were about to pass on. The author's personal stories are usually tied into the lessons she learned from the dying patients she cared for, but still I wanted to hear more about the lives of the patients themselves.

    The author's stories about herself are interesting. She obviously has lead a very free and interesting life, but constantly hearing about it loses it's appeal after a while. I was hoping to gain insight and wisdom from the people who were seeing life from their last days. I did get a portion of that, but not nearly as much as I had hoped. Strangely, a lot of the words of wisdom came from the author, which is fine I suppose, but that's not quite what I bought the book for.

    Also, the end of the book got really self indulgent in my opinion. I was really feeling like giving the book 4 stars until I neared the end. There's a small portion in those last chapters that summarize her days and lessons learned with her patients, but the last 20% or so of the book is very long winded story telling of her own trials and tribulations through depression and her days as a songwriting instructor at a women's prison. I just didn't get what the point of all that content was. It didn't seem to tie in with the theme of the book at all. I kind of got the impression that the end was simply a need to fill pages to meet a quota by the way it rambled on and on. It really soured my opinion of the book as a whole.

    At any rate, the book has high points and low points. It has 5 star rating material and 1 star rating material. I decided to split the difference and rank it as 3 stars overall. It's worth reading but I wouldn't recommend spending a lot of money on it. I'm glad I bought the $10 kindle version and not the $30 paper copy!
  • Veena Choudary
    5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful. Poetic. Therapeutic. Must read.
    Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2020
    Bronnie has written a beautiful book. I shied away from reading this book for years- thinking it would be too painful or morbid. It is anything but. The book weaves the narrative of the regrets the dying in Bronnie’s care expressed seamlessly with Bronnie’s own life and her healing as she navigated these journeys with them. The book also offers us the reader a chance to reflect on our own eulogy as well as an opportunity to truly be present now. Bronnie does all this beautifully without sounding preachy in any way. You feel wrapped in a beautiful quilt and feel as if you are being given another opportunity to assess what is truly important in your life vs just existing. Lovely writing. Bronnie is inspirational herself. And the stories of these amazing individuals who taught her and us so much - humbling. Truly a must read book.

    • Best Sellers in

     
     

    Aware: The Science and Practice of Presence - A Complete Guide to the Groundbreaking Wheel of Awareness Meditation Practice

    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 732
    19.69
     
     

    The Alchemy of Your Dreams: A Modern Guide to the Ancient Art of Lucid Dreaming and Interpretation

    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 165
    13.78
     
     

    The Greatest Salesman in the World

    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 9,633
    5.91
     
     

    Shepherds for Sale: How Evangelical Leaders Traded the Truth for a Leftist Agenda

    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 1,452
    22.04
     
     

    The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety

    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 6,270
    11.81
     
     

    The Ultimate Deepak Chopra Collection

    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 10
    52.46
     
     

    FFFHAMS: Food Forest Foraging Hunting Anti-Fragile Modern Society: Generation One (The Philosophy of Order)

    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 61
    17.46
     
     

    Lucid Dreaming: Gateway to the Inner Self

    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 639
    21.88