Last Will & Testament, A Memoir in Poetry - by Cameron Miller (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Have you ever sat in a room full of strangers, surrounded by silence, listening to the labored breathing of the person everyone is either staring at or desperately trying not to? Imagine this scene in a stark hospital room where machines beep and flash their little lights, serenading the life that's slowly slipping away.

Or perhaps you've experienced the moment of rubbing frankincense-infused oil on an hours-old baby's forehead while sharing in the parents' tearful joy? Or the same gesture when that baby has passed away?

In the Introduction to "Last Will & Testament," Cameron Miller invites us into what may seem like the peculiar experiences of a preacher's life, but what we find is a reflection of our own. Rather than being mere observers, we become participants in Miller's search for the sacred hidden in plain sight. Through his poetry, essays, and short stories, Miller explores themes of doubt and hope, grief and love, trust and darkness.

As an Episcopal priest who found his calling through recovery, Miller's experiences shape this collection, which is crafted from raw, unpolished moments. It's a collection that defies traditional structure, allowing readers to pick it up and put it down at will, discovering and healing with each reading.

Review Quotes

These narrative and poetic autobiographical ruminations are the work of a gifted writer and courageous spiritual seeker. Among other entries that highlight such things as parents, grief, and small details of nature, Miller leads us into his soul. As he confronts the "wild animals" that lurk in the darkness of his inward wilderness journey, he reveals hope that when he "circles the drain at the end of his life," he will leave thankful that he fully embraced, even befriended what Jung called the shadow. But he also leads us outward in his quest to subvert easy, domesticated faith. As Jesus taught, doing justice, and creating the kingdom of God on earth is authentic spirituality. "It is preposterous to claim any theological certainty when we are but infinitesimal smudges on a tiny planet, unremarkable among a cosmos of drifting spinning orbs." At the beginning of the book, Miller quotes poet Mary Oliver who said that "attention is the beginning of devotion." Miller is paying attention and so should we.

Timothy Wadkins

Emeritus Professor of Modern Christianity

Canisius University, Buffalo NY

Cameron Miller's Last Will & Testament is a kaleidoscope of poetry, fiction, and essays, a moving memoir of his 40 years as an Episcopal preacher and even longer as a son and brother in a Midwestern family. Miller's words are lively and entertaining, his memories heartbreaking and intimate, his actions revelatory and laudable, and all so very human. Read this unusual book if you wish to learn how one brilliant mind, an ordinary saint, navigates through the spiritual and physical worlds that we all face in our lives.

Jim Carmen

Former member, National Book Critics Circle and retired Special Collections Librarian, Portland, OR

In Cameron Miller's moving memoir, Last Will & Testament, the reader is asked to consider the nature of faith, love, loss, memory, devotion and a complex array of human emotions and experiences. Reflecting on a long life in the service of God, Miller now explores that journey in variety of essays, poems, and short stories. Can the fundamental questions of life ever be answered? Are we left forever in a state of seeking the truth? Miller weighs in on these matters in an inspiring, affable, and highly accessible writing style that makes us comfortable with the complex issues we all struggle with.

Anne Leigh Parrish, author of The Hedgerow