The Top Five Regrets of the Dying

Bronnie Ware spent years as a palliative-care nurse in Australia, sitting with patients in their last weeks of life, and the conversations she had at those bedsides became the source of one of the most-shared wisdom books of the 2010s. The book opens with Ware's own backstory and her path into hospice work, then walks through the five regrets she heard most often: living a life true to others rather than yourself, working too hard, suppressing feelings, losing touch with friends, and not letting yourself be happier. Each regret is illustrated through portraits of specific patients Ware cared for.