Was Ledger's Last Act a Farewell?

Investigations into actor Heath Ledger's truly untimely demise, shortly after filming wrapped on the new Batman: Dark Knight movie, do not cast any doubt on the fact his death was an accident. But as loved ones and, in this case, fans try to cope with such a tragedy, they can often make sense of the d\eath when, in retrospect, they can see the individual's final act as a glorious end.

A swan song.

For professor of psychology, Amy Hollingsworth, the public's incredible anticipation of the Batman movie opening this weekend, and the movie critics' collective call for a posthumous Oscar nomination to Ledger in the roll of The Joker, is no coincidence. But rather, evidence of a human-nature belief in "last things" as a way to bring closure.

"The human condition is about finding purpose in our existence," says Hollingsworth. "Sometimes, while we're alive, we search in the passing of others to find that purpose and, for many of us, that personal affirmation that something more is out there beyond this life. When we see an individual's final act as a great performance, event or testament, it gives us what we're looking for."

When legendary blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughn died in a helicopter crash in 1990, it occurred shortly after he had overcome the demons of his addictions and during a time when everyone who knew and adored him recognized that he had reached the pinnacle of his career. His death, though ironic, seemed like it happened at a fitting "end" of his life, when he had nothing more to accomplish. And the concert he played in Wisconsin, just hours before he boarded the chopper, quickly became his swan song.

Stories such as Ledger's, and those of other individuals, both celebrities and everyday people alike, are uncannily similar, and at the center of Hollingsworth's new book Gifts of Passage: What the Dying Tell Us with the Gifts They Leave Behind. She's available for interviews to offer your audience a unique perspective on these remarkable swan songs, including the Russert Rainbow that left the nation awestruck during the recent funeral of beloved newsman, Tim Russert.

About Your Speaker...
Amy Hollingsworth is the author of The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers: Spiritual Insights from the World's Most Beloved Neighbor, based on her nine-year friendship with television's Fred Rogers. She has a master's degree in counseling psychology and a bachelor's degree in English and is an adjunct professor at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where she lives with her husband Jeff and their children, Jonathan and Emily. She has written for various magazines, including ParentLife, and was a writer for eight years for The 700 Club television program. Here is a link to a recent television interview with Amy on Harvest TV (occurs about 15 minutes in)
http://www.harvest-tv.com/video/dsp_playshow.cfm?showid=170

Finding the Gifts of Passage

A New Message from the Best Selling Author of The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers

After suffering the loss of her father while writing her bestselling debut book, Amy Hollingsworth began to search for the meaning behind his dying moments. What she found was a simple truth at the heart of overcoming the deepest grief: the dying leave gifts.

Weaving together the warm intimacy of Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie and the straightforward honesty of Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking, Amy Hollingsworth adds her hopeful voice to the literature of life and the life beyond. Gifts of Passage (Thomas Nelson, Inc., ISBN# 978-0-8499-1920-6, April 2008) will be an intriguing journey for any and all readers fascinated by this brief overlap of heaven and earth. With deeply moving stories of how others discovered the gifts their loved ones left behind, this book will gently encourage readers to anticipate and uncover their own.

"The Chinese believe that an invisible red thread binds those who are destined to be together," writes Hollingsworth. "Parents who adopt children - especially from foreign countries - often use the imagery to illustrate the providence of unexpected kinship. I didn't realize it at the time but when I began my search to find the meaning of my dad's dying gift, I was taking hold of a red thread. Over the next months my red thread would wend its way - crossing time and culture, spanning age and death - connecting me to those whose stories would matter to me, would teach me. Each gift unraveled like a mystery, so that I was learning not only about the gift but also about the process I had to go through to discern my own. With each story the red thread tightened, pulling me closer to the meaning of Dad's final gift."

www.GiftsofPassage.com

Visit SpecialGuests.com for information on all of our interview guests.

judythpiazza@newsblaze.com

Copyright © 2008, NewsBlaze, Daily News

Tags: heath ledger, the joker, batman,

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