For You When I Am Gone

Twelve Essential Questions to Tell a Life Story

By: Steve Leder

Narrated by: Steve Leder

New York Times and Los Angeles Times bestseller!

From the bestselling author of The Beauty of What Remains, a guide to writing a meaningful letter about your life.

Writing an ethical will, a document that includes stories and reflections about your past, is an ancient tradition. It can include joy and regrets, and ultimately becomes both a way to remember a loved one who is gone and a primer on how to live a better, happier life. Beloved Rabbi Steve Leder has helped thousands of people to write their own ethical wills, and in this intimate book helps us write our own.

Because our culture privileges the material over the spiritual, we sometimes forget that our words carry greater value than any physical thing we can bequeath to our loved ones. Rabbi Leder provides all the right questions and prompts, including: What was your most painful regret and how can your loved ones avoid repeating it? When was a time you led with your heart instead of your head? What did you learn from your biggest failure?

Including examples of ethical wills from a broad range of voices—old and young, with and without children, famous and unknown—For You When I Am Gone inspires readers to examine their own lives and turn them into something beautiful and meaningful for generations to come.

Critic reviews

"The is the book we all need to read. For You When I Am Gone is not only full of wisdom but offers questions and tools that will infuse your life with meaning. Rabbi Steve Leder is one of the great spiritual teachers of our time and this book is his most important to date."
–Claire Bidwell Smith, author of Anxiety: The Missing Stage of Grief

"Rabbi Leder does it again with another book that looks deep into the taboo topic of death. He challenges the reader in this new book to dig deep into your own vulnerability to give honest answers to the hardest questions in life. Through reading and then answering those questions you learn about yourself, your life, and what you would like to leave behind for your loved ones to know. A must read!"
–Amanda Kloots, author of Live Your Life: My Story of Loving and Losing Nick Cordero

Absolutely beautifully written

Love the words in this book! Leaves you with some true deep work to do but a guide to a legacy left behind.

Couldn’t Stop Listening

Such a great listen! I heard so much of my own experiences in this book. So much kindness, love & mind changing thoughts. Really makes you think about life experiences and how you want to leave people behind feeling. I will listen to this many times!

I enjoyed it but wanted more

This was a good book, but it could have been great. One thing that was missing was the author's changing tone or voice. Even inputting a new voice when switching between people and their stories. It kept the same tone throughout and I was lost on who and what he was talking about at times and had to just follow along and hope to catch up. The overall message was informative and gave me a new perspective on my life and relationship with my children and siblings.

Thought Provoking

So much to think about and stsrt putting on paper. So much I wish I had asked about and shared with, my parents before they left our world.

Wonderful contribution

Great advice on how to do an ethical will to leave for loved ones. Great listen, i am sure i will listen to again.