Live Beautifully, Die Beautifully: Field Notes from the Edge of Impermanence - Softcover

Nghiem, Sister Dang

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1937006719 ISBN 13: 9781937006716

Publisher: Parallax Press, 2026

Synopsis

A luminous guide to aging, illness, and loss—rooted in the lived experience of a refugee, physician, and Zen nun who transformed profound personal trauma into a path of clarity, courage, and compassion

These are field notes from a life shaped by upheaval and lived in radical presence. In this tender, deeply insightful book, beloved five-time author Sister Dang Nghiem writes from the heart of her own story: a childhood marked by war and disappearance, a young adulthood shaped by displacement, and a turning point of grief that led her to leave medicine and follow the socially engaged Buddhist teachings of peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh.

Blending a physician’s understanding of the body with a Zen practitioner’s insight into the mind, she weaves intimate storytelling with contemplative insight to reveal a path through aging, illness, and change. Shaped by war, migration, racism, and loss, her story offers a living example of how suffering can be transformed into meaning, connection, and even joy.

Grounded in the core Zen teaching of the Five Remembrances and supported by guided meditations, this book offers practical guidance to help readers meet fear, grief, and uncertainty with clarity, courage, and peace. It is an invitation to live beautifully—and to die beautifully—one breath at a time.

About this title

About the Author

Sister Dang Nghiem is a disciple of the revered Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. After losing her mother at the age of twelve, she moved to the United States with her brother at the age of seventeen, where she learned English and went on to earn a medical degree from the University of California-San Francisco. After suffering further tragedy and the loss of her partner, she quit her practice as a doctor to travel to Plum Village monastery in France, founded by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, where she ordained as a nun in 2000. Her writing draws on her unique experiences as a physician, a nun, and an individual navigating diverse worlds. She is the author of four books: a memoir, Healing: A Woman's Journey from Doctor to Nun (2010), Mindfulness as Medicine: A Story of Healing and Spirit (2015), Flowers in the Dark: Reclaiming Your Power to Heal from Trauma with Mindfulness (2021), and The River in Me: Verses of Transformation (2024).

Edition details

• Publisher: Parallax Press
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1937006719
• ISBN 13: 9781937006716
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272