“The River Styx isn’t far ahead. When it’s time for the final crossing, doc, I want you there at the helm.” Hearing these words from Steven Foster, hospice physician Scott Eberle unhesitatingly responded, “I give you my word, Steven. If it’s within my powers, I’ll be there.”  In a matter of weeks, Foster would be dead, having succumbed to a genetic lung disease at the young age of 64.
            Steven spent the last half of his life working to bring meaningful wilderness rites of passage back into the modern world.  He had taught many people about how to mark a major life transition, helping them “to die” symbolically that they might be “reborn” into a new life.  Scott was one of those people.
            When he was first summoned to Steven’s side, Scott felt called to return this great favor.  Having worked as an end-of-life physician for nearly two decades and as a wilderness guide for several years, he had learned that “symbolic dying and literal dying are obviously not the same, [but] they are deeply connected.”  He had explored that connection within his own life and he then went to Foster’s bedside to help him do the same.   This book is the story of their meeting and Steven’s final crossing.