I’ve been contemplating death a lot, lately. Maybe it’s because I just turned 32, and I see my young adult life quickly passing by. Maybe it’s because I’m just coming out of “the land between,” that murky, vacuous space where you’re confused as heck about your purpose in life. Maybe it’s because a childhood neighbor friend dropped dead of a heart attack a few months ago at the age of 29 on an afternoon jog in preparation for a police officer certification program—unlike your stereotypical donut-eating cop, he was in tip-top shape.

Perhaps it comes with age and perhaps it comes with greater life experiences, but I’m more aware of my own mortality and the mortality of those closest to me than ever before. Which is why I am really thankful for a new book by my friend and mentor, Mike Wittmer. For about a year now he’s affectionally referred to his latest writing project as his “death book,” and that’s what it is, a book on death called The Last Enemy: Preparing to Win the Fight of Your Life.

Here’s how this book launches into the biggest elephant in our collective rooms:

You are going to die. Take a moment to let that sink in. You are going to die. One morning the sun will rise and you won’t see it. Birds will greet the dawn and you won’t hear them. Friends and family will gather to celebrate your life, and after you’re buried they’ll return to the church for ham and scalloped potatoes. Soon your job and favorite chair and spot on the team will be filled by someone else. The rest of the world may pause to remember—it will give you a moment of silence if you were rich or well known—but then it will carry on as it did before you arrived. “There is no remembrance of men of old,” observed Solomon, “and even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow” (Ecclesiastes 1:11).

You are going to die. What a crushing desperate thought. But unless you swallow hard and embrace it, you are not prepared to live.

I love that last line: unless you swallow hard and embrace death, you are not prepared to live. I must say, when I agreed to review this book for Mike, I wasn’t prepared for the roller coaster ride of emotions I experienced as I faced and embraced the prospect of my own demise. I mean who really is? And who really sits down to actually contemplate it? Especially in such a youth-obsesed, decay-averse culture? But that’s what I did, and a few hours later I am a better person for it.

While this book isn’t for the faint of heart—be prepared for an honest, probing engagement of this important subject—it’s a highly accessible book that’s filled with Mike’s special blend of wit, honesty, and pastoral sensitivity, and it all revolves around this single reality: death is our enemy. Unlike how many in our culture and even the church—particularly in the church—speak about death as a good thing, “a passing on” or “graduation” into a “better life,” Mike makes the consistent, biblical appeal that death is not a good thing. Death isn’t how it was ever supposed to be; it’s our enemy that we have every right to shake our fist against. But the other reality is that death has been defeated by Jesus Christ. These two realities—death as enemy and death as defeated—form the two-part structure to this well-written, highly engaging devotional style book.

The first part is called “Know Your Enemy,” and focuses on the reality of death; why it exists in our world (because of sin); why we experience it (as consequence for sin); and the pain of death which we have every right to mourn. The second part, though, makes plain the reality that death has been defeated, which Mike outlines in part two, titled “Trust Christ’s Victory.” Here, he walks through the effect of the crucifixion, resurrection, and Jesus triumph over death; the rest we can have in the face of death because of Christ’s victory; our hope of heaven, not somewhere in outer space but right here on earth (see his excellent  Heaven Is a Place on Earth for a fuller treatment of this subject); three practical chapters for those who are nearing the end of their lives on lamenting, living, and letting go; and a final chapter on finishing well.

What I love about this book is that it is written in short, easily accessible and approachable chapters in a devotional style and tone—chapters are 5 pages at the most. Then, Mike follows each chapter with 4 or 5 questions for reflection to help the read process what they’ve just read and their own feelings in regards to the chapter’s content. Every chapter is rooted in Scripture; has just enough theological weight to keep it from becoming the typical sappy fluff that marks a lot of Christian engagement with death without getting bogged down; is filled with relevant, applicable sermon-esque stories to help drive the theme of the chapter; and engages the subject of death with incredible honesty and insight to help those nearing the end of life face their last enemy with hope.

As an almost-no-longer-young-adult, I found this book rather helpful and applicable to my own sense of purpose and destiny. There’s something about getting honest with enemy death that puts things in perspective and reorients one’s life trajectory. It might sound odd, but I think this could make a great gift for graduates of college or even high school, as much as a gift for grandma or grandpa, to help them honestly, yet hopefully, face deaths reality.

So buy this book not only for a friend or family member who is facing the prospect of death, but also for yourself—because the reality is one day you are going to die, and unless you face and embrace that reality, you are not prepared to live.