“Wakefield artfully—and with such uncomfortable honesty!—breaks open his own life as the character study of what chaplaincy entails. He doesn’t merely explicate the process of being transformed, but takes us into the very heart.”
Keith Wakefield is a hospital chaplain, author, and educator who has spent years sitting with patients and families at life’s hardest moments. His debut book, Stay with Me, I Want to Be Alone (Punchline Publishers, 2025), blends memoir and bedside stories to explore grief, presence, and meaning with honesty, humor, and humanity.
Media Kit
Short Bio:
Keith Wakefield is a hospital chaplain, speaker, and filmmaker whose work explores how presence, humor, and honesty shape the way we face life’s hardest moments. Drawing from years at UCLA Health and beyond, he brings vivid stories from the bedside to audiences worldwide—helping people discover resilience, meaning, and authentic connection in the midst of loss.
Long Bio:
Keith Wakefield is a hospital chaplain, speaker, and filmmaker whose life and work explore the deepest human questions: What really matters? How do we go on in the face of loss? Where do we find strength when life unravels?
Keith’s journey into chaplaincy began in an unexpected place—through the raw, searching music of Guns N’ Roses. What started as a way to face his own fear of failure grew into a lifelong calling to walk alongside others during their most difficult moments. Today, he serves at UCLA Health, sitting daily with patients and families navigating end-of-life diagnoses, grief, and the fragile threshold between despair and hope.
His debut book, Stay with Me, I Want to Be Alone, blends memoir with practical insight, pulling back the curtain on the hidden world of chaplaincy. With candor, humor, and reverence, Keith offers an unflinching look at life, death, and what the living can learn from both. Early readers have called it “a masterclass in healing through genuine presence” and “a disarmingly honest and captivating account of the work of a hospital chaplain.”
Beyond the page, Keith is a sought-after speaker for conferences, universities, churches, and healthcare organizations. His talks on presence, resilience, and spiritual care bring together storytelling, film, and lived wisdom to help audiences engage with the most pressing challenges of life and loss.
Whether through writing, speaking, or film, Keith invites others into honest, life-giving conversations about what it means to be fully human.
“This impassioned, culturally astute story mosaic made me laugh and cry. The book made me want to become a chaplain.”
Key Details
Title: Stay with Me, I Want to Be Alone
Author: Keith Wakefield
Publisher: Punchline Publishers
Release Date: October 3, 2025
Formats: Paperback, eBook, Audiobook
Categories: Memoir, Spiritual Care, Grief & Bereavement
About the Book:
Stay with Me, I Want to Be Alone is a spiritual memoir that pulls back the curtain on hospital chaplaincy—where grief, presence, and meaning collide. With stories that are raw, funny, and deeply human, Keith Wakefield reveals what chaplains really do and what the dying can teach the living.
“Readable, relatable, and rich with wisdom, this book is both a compelling reflection and a practical tool. Chaplain educators will find it especially effective for CPE students and continuing education alike.”
