Beyond Surviving
Beyond Surviving is a compassionate, grounded exploration of how serious illness disrupts not only the body, but identity, meaning, and one’s sense of place in the world.
Drawing on decades of experience in oncology and spiritual care, David Maginley invites readers to look beyond the narrow goal of “getting through” illness and toward a deeper, more human question: How do we live fully, honestly, and meaningfully when life no longer looks the way we expected it to?
Written in accessible language and shaped by real clinical encounters, Beyond Surviving offers a steady presence for anyone navigating cancer—patients, families, and caregivers alike.
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Illness often brings questions that medicine alone cannot answer. Beyond Surviving addresses them directly:
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How cancer disrupts identity, roles, and assumptions about control
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Why fear, grief, anger, and spiritual confusion are normal—not failures
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The difference between sgoing through cancer and growing through cancer
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How meaning can emerge even when outcomes are uncertain
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Why presence and compassion matter as much as treatment
Rather than offering platitudes or forced positivity, the book creates space for honesty, vulnerability, and depth. David Maginley brings more than twenty-five years of experience in oncology, palliative care, and spiritual care to this work, along with firsthand knowledge of serious illness. His approach is clinically informed, emotionally honest, and spiritually grounded—focused not on curing suffering, but on meeting it with presence, meaning, and compassion.
Reviews
This is a magnificent book based on the author’s professional practice and personal life experience. It is wide ranging and based on scientific evidence as well as patient cases from his work as a chaplain in a large tertiary care hospital. Although the primary audience is people with cancer, it will be of interest to many others. I couldn’t put this book down and have loaned it to friends and recommended it to many (who in turn have sent copies to their friends).
Amazon review
A really lovely and unique book, filled with spiritual insights and obviously a work of love. David Maginley has beautifully conveyed the profound role a hospital chaplain plays in patient care, and done so with deep empathy because he's actually been there - on both sides of the veil! Masterfully created, informative, insightful and deeply engaging!
Dr. Penny Sartori, author of The Wisdom of Near-Death Experiences: How Understanding NDEs Can Help Us Live More Fully
At his best, Maginley is breathtaking, writing powerful, deeply true, moving stuff. The result of his multi-faceted background is a uniquely grounded mix of pragmatism and deep spirituality, producing a book which has the makings of a classic. Highly recommended.
Nancy Evans Bush, MA, author of Dancing Past the Dark: Distressing Near-Death Experiences
The Nautilus Book Award celebrates exceptional library contributions to spiritual growth, conscious living, high-level wellness, green values, responsible leadership, and positive social change. Learn more at nautilusbookawards.com