"Through stories from her own practice, a palliative care doctor and therapist takes the reader on a journey through dying. Modern medical technology is allowing us to live longer and fuller lives than ever before. And for the most part, that is good news. But with changes in the way we understand medicine come changes in the way we understand death. Once a familiar, peaceful, and gentle -- if sorrowful -- process, death has come to be something from...

Sharing stories of real people they have encountered as professional hospice caregivers, the authors explore both the practical and philosophical aspects of the hospice movement. Straightforward and nontechnical in approach, Hospice, A Labor of Love offers help and inspiration to hospice volunteers, pastoral counselors, and the families of those who are receiving hospice care.

Framed by the author's personal odyssey as a caregiver and richly informed by the inspiring and poignant tales of others, Caregiving explores medical and financial problems, all aspects of spirituality, and such issues as depression, stress, housing, home care, and end-of-life concerns. A rare blend of powerful storytelling and practical information, Caregiving is a revelation.

In a heartbeat, you or someone you love may be rapidly transformed from a life of health and wellness to one of critical illness. Over the past four decades, Ronald Kotler, M.D., has treated patients who have become critically ill. He has seen patients recover and go on to lead long, healthy lives. He has also treated patients who did not survive. In this medical memoir, Dr. Kotler takes readers to the frontlines of caring for critically ill patients...

Explores how religious understandings of death are experienced in hospice care. In the 1960s, English physician and committed Christian Cicely Saunders introduced a new way of treating the terminally ill that she called "hospice care." Emphasizing a holistic and compassionate approach, her model led to the rapid growth of a worldwide hospice movement. Aspects of the early hospice model that stressed attention to the religious dimensions of death...

"Aidyn Kelley is talented, ambitious, and ready for a more serious assignment than the fluff pieces she's been getting as a cub reporter for the Kansas City Star. In her eagerness, she pushes too hard, earning herself the menial task of writing an obituary for an unremarkable woman who's just entered hospice care. But there's more to Clara Kip than meets the eye. The spirited septuagenarian may be dying, but she's not quite ready to cash it in yet....

"This country is fairly crowded with doctors, families, and patients-all possessed of good intentions-failing to achieve the simple goal of allowing people to die with dignity and grace." In the 1970s, most Americans died swiftly and brutally: of heart attacks, strokes, cancer, or in accidents. But in the past three decades, medical advances have extended our lives and changed the way we die. In Last Rights, Stephen Kiernan reveals the disconnect...

Conversations About Death is the result Sally Cant's twenty years in the death and dying industry. It contains a wealth of information that will make you feel more relaxed, open and comforted by talking about death and dying. Conversations About Death is a much needed tool: to assist in those conversations about what things a person might consider for themselves and their families regarding their death; to understand what's happening in the field...

The Situation - A Radical Journey Thru Sisterhood is an intimate portrayal of two sisters, Carolyn and Lila, whose lives are deeply intertwined over forty years. When Carolyn is diagnosed with glioblastoma brain cancer, Lila is unaware of the complexity of diagnosis and unprepared for the devastating path to come. The Situation takes readers on an emotional and intense journey that explores the lifelong bond between siblings and the aching loss of...

A compassionate, honest, and illuminating look at the dying process . . . As a long-time hospice volunteer, Jennie Dear has helped countless patients, families, and caregivers cope with the many challenges of the dying process. Inspired by her own personal journey with her mother's long-term illness, Dear demystifies the experience of dying for everyone whose lives it touches. She spoke to doctors, nurses, and caregivers, as well as families, friends,...