In this book, Nouwen shares what he learned after being hit by a van while walking along an icy highway. The author, a Dutch priest and pastoral theologian known for his spiritual writings, sees his vocation as being "a witness to the glimpses of God I have been allowed to catch."
While hovering on the terrain between life and death after the accident, Nouwen felt "only peace, joy, and an all pervading sense of security" at the prospect of meeting his maker. What kept him clinging to life was anger, regret, and guilt about all those whom he had not forgiven or had not forgiven him.
In a sense, this close encounter with death taught Nouwen that "dying is the most important act of living. It involves a choice to bind others with guilt or to set them free with gratitude." In these reflections, the author helps us see the deeply spiritual ramifications of living in service of others and then witnessing to them in our death as well. Nouwen's Beyond the Mirror gives fresh definition to the term a "finely finished death."
