Scott Eberle, MD, is Medical Director of Hospice of Petaluma, California, and a physician specializing in end-of-life care. He is also a wilderness guide at the School of Lost Borders. In the 1980s he learned the art of medicine at the bedside of many people living and dying with AIDS. He survived this difficult time by regularly seeking sanctuary in monasteries and the natural world, completing over 100 retreats during a 15-year period. He is also author of The Final Crossing: Learning to Die in Order to Live, in which he writes about his experience attending the death of Stephen Foster, a Rites of Passage guide and founder. An interview (audio & text) where we discuss the exploration of vision fasts as a means of preparing us for death is available at the link below: