The Top Five Regrets of the Dying - A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing is a 2011 book by Bronnie Ware inspired by her time in palliative care.
The Top Five Regrets of the Dying - A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing is a 2011 book by Bronnie Ware inspired by her time in palliative care.
Ware first shared the insights in a 2009 blog post, "Regrets of the Dying". [1] [2] The blog post was widely shared worldwide and by 2012 had been read by eight million people. [3]
In 2012 Ware expanded her blog post into a book memoir, The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, which was translated into 27 languages. [4] [3]
According to Bronnie Ware, the five most common regrets shared by people nearing death were: [5] [6]
A 2018 study reached similar conclusions, finding that people were more likely to express "ideal-related regrets", such as failing to follow their dreams and live up to their full potential. [7] [8]
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In her book The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, Bonnie [sic] Ware, a palliative nurse, compiled the regrets most often expressed by patients nearing the ends of their lives (Ware, 2013). Although anecdotal, her observations are in line with our hypothesis. The most commonly cited regret mentioned by Ware's patients was, "I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me."