Authors to Sign Books at Davis-Kidd Thurs., May 22, 7 p.m.; Percentage of authors’ royalties to go to Alive Hospice
Dr. Bob Fisher, president of Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., and his wife, Judy, are releasing, Life is a Gift: Inspiration from the Soon Departed (FaithWords, Hachette Book Group USA), on May 20, 2008, featuring a collection of interviews and lessons learned from 104 terminally ill patients of Alive Hospice in Nashville. FaithWords will hold a book signing for the Fishers at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Nashville, Green Hills Mall, on Thurs., May 22 at 7 p.m.
During the course of their interviews, the Fishers spoke with a wide range of terminal patients of all ages and socio-economic backgrounds. Though each person had a unique story, each accepted death as an unavoidable fact. All of the 104 patients the Fishers interviewed have since died.
“We wanted to glean the wisdom of those who are ‘near-to-death,’” the Fishers wrote in Life is a Gift. “You’ve heard stories of people who have a near-death experience and change their way of thinking about the world… In our talking to the soon-departed, it was our goal to have an experience of being ‘near-to-death’ and to see where it led us.”
Alive Hospice President and CEO Janet Jones said, “When I read this book, I was so inspired by the messages the people we were privileged to serve left with us. What a gift this book is to all of us about how to live our lives to the fullest. Bob and Judy Fisher’s ability to lovingly be present during these conversations and allow the individuals to express their core feelings and then grasp them in the story is nothing short of miraculous.”
Twenty-five percent of the authors’ royalties will go to Alive Hospice, www.alivehospice.org.
The conversations with patients like 5-year-old Maddie or the 98-year-old man who spent his last weeks learning Hungarian followed a standard question-and-answer formula: What are you most proud of? What has been your greatest joy? What has been your greatest disappointment? What’s the most important thing you’ve ever done? What do you regret? What comes next for you? If you could give one message to the world, what would it be?

The Nashville Technology Council, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, Belmont University, 13 other local academic organizations and more than 50 area businesses recently launched their “Turning the Tide of Technology” initiative. The launch of the initiative was made official yesterday with each participant signing a charter agreement. Assistant Provost Glenn Acree, pictured signing the initiative, serves on the Tech Council’s Board of Directors.
The charter solidified a working partnership to continually raise awareness in the student community, enhance education programs and provide career opportunities to meet the workforce needs of Middle Tennessee. By signing the charter, organizations agreed to support and contribute to the overall success of the initiative.
“The signing of the charter agreement is an important step needed to aid in the continued growth of the Middle Tennessee technology community,” said Jeff Costantine, president, Nashville Technology Council. “The objectives of the initiative include, creating student interest in technology, raising student enrollment in technology related fields of study, addressing the rising demand of technology resources and working to align graduate skills to meet business demand to help fill area technology jobs.”