Death Care Books

Surviving the Fall is eminently readable, quite fascinating and very moving. It makes the reader care about the troubled people who become Dr. Selwyn's AIDS patients. Dr. Selwyn also shares very personal insights into his own emotions and the journey he took in coming to terms with personal losses.

The author describes in gret detail his struggles and satisfactions working with AIDS patients in New York. As he continues his work he finds need to look into his own background and discovers the details of his father's death when he was a child. A heartwarming portrayal of how life experiences often unrecognized motivate us in our choice of profession and the way we carry out our responsibilities. A heart warming book. Morris Wessel, M.D.

Thank you for getting this book out so quickly. It is needed so desperatly in these times. Children are asking so many questions that are hard to answer. They need to be reasured.
I also bought, After the Tears, A Gentle Guide to Help Children Understand Death. (video)

I was looking for something that would help in explaining this whole horrible situation to my kids. This book really met the challenge, and helped me talk to my kids about what was scaring them (and me!)

There were two sections that were particularly helpful; one on strategies for helping your child cope, which included all kinds of things I never would have thought of (like watching your kids for unusual complaints of bruising, for example-which can be a sign of stress in younger kids who may not be able to verbalize what they're really feeling); and another on Answering Children's Questions (such as, Are we going to die, Will it happen here, Will bombs fall on us, and Can I stay home from school).

All in all, I found it really helpful. It's also pretty much the only book on this topic that I found.

I read this book from the perspective of a practicing social worker and also as a parent who has experienced the death of a child. This book provides clear and practical insights for understanding and working with grief. The true stories are poignant, concise and portray lessons and "truths" that could take a lifetime of professional practice to learn. From each story the author is able to distill practical advice and show how and why the advice matters, for those who want the theory; there are plenty of footnotes to pursue further research.

But not only is this book a valuable tool for professional counselors, the life stories and lessons touch on universal experiences we all face learning to live with the loss of parents, siblings, children or a traumatic event. The lessons in this book serves as navigational aids for all who find themselves in these turbulent and unsettling waters.

I will be buying this book for colleagues, and for those just beginning their careers in the helping professions.

Francie Scott, LCSW

The Weeping Willow (encounters with grief)

I read the book through the eyes of both a therapist and as a mother who lost her son to cancer; and it provided much food for thought. It is a must for all therapists, and a valuable text for anyone experiencing grief and loss. .

The real life stories of counseling individuals and families in various circumstances told in brief by the authors serve to cast light on the complexities of dealing with grieving. . There is a lesson to be learned in each encounter by the inclusion of questions, answers and references.

A therapist can benefit from reading the authors' presentation and their insight into the varied facets of grief and loss and it can help anyone enmeshed in the throes of trauma, grief and loss.

"You should know no more sorrow"; "time is a great healer"; such inane platitudes, that only serve the speaker and rub salt into the wounds of the bereaved. I can never hear those words without cringing. The authors explain why these expressions are so annoying. What they are saying is that nothing can erase the pain but understanding can ease the pain.

I bought this book for a friend who had recently lost her daughter after a battle with cancer. She read the pages concerning her specific loss and she found it to be a precious aid.

I want to thank Lynne Chalamish and Doron Hermoni for sharing their experience, knowledge and insight with this gem of a book


Ada Levitt D.T.R. #56
Kibbutz Barkai, Israel

This book was written by a nurse and is composed in a case study style format. It is however, a compilation of stories of people who go through the dying process with the help of hospice helpers, nurses, aides, doctors, and family. Every story was very touching and revealing of the feelings, hopes, attitudes and experiences of the patient and helpers. If you are facing the loss of a loved one, wanting to learn more about hospice, or have some other reason...this book will warm your heart and help you face dying as it has helped me. Highly recommended!

I really enjoyed this story. It's a great story for any age, anyone who may need help dealing with the loss of a loved one. Highly recommended.

"Approaching Death" belongs with "How we Die" and Bill Moyer's Milestone "On Our Own Terms" as the seminal studies on Dying. At times empathetic, scholarly, and broadminded. This treatise should be read by all of us.

Being a Philosophy major at Oklahoma State University I found this book to be very informative in an ethical perspective. The two authors, Prado and Taylor, have different views on the hot button topic of Physician Assisted Suicide. This gives the reader a broad overview of opinions toward the subjects. The book starts with the basic definition of assisted suicide and goes to the ethics dealing with it. However, the book does not mention anything about the leaglization of assisted suicide because they state regardless of the legality it happens. Personally, I would reccomend this book to anyone who has an intrest in learning about the ethics and morals in the issue of assisted suicide.

This book is well written and is the best book on grief that I have read. I use it to teach at the seminary, and it transfers to secular settings as well as it addresses spirituality. This is a fantastic book to aid in practical techniques to aid those in need of advancing through various aspects of the grief journey. It aids one in distinguishing from those in normal grief all the way to dysfunctional grief or being stuck in grief. A must have for those in pastoral or any form of counseling!

This book is an account of the seige of Shatila refugee camp in Beirut in 1987-1988. Giannou was sent to the camp by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in 1986 to set up and run a field hospital to serve the camp during the coming siege. Giannou, a Canadian by passport of Greek heritage, had had too much experience serving in war zones before, having been a camp surgeon during the Israeli invasion. In 1986, he flew into Lebanon, was surreptitiously brought into the Shatila camp, and did not leave the camp again for 27 months. As Giannou explains it, the word `camp' is a misnomer, since the refugee families had constructed permanent homes in the district many years before. Shatila was more accurately a ghetto within urban Beirut. The enemy forces surrounding the camp were the Amal militia, a Shi'ite faction who sought to eliminate Palestinian influence in Lebanese politics by attacking the refugee camps in Beirut.

The book is a page-turner, leaving the reader constantly wondering whether Shatila will have the wherewithal to survive the siege. The book is quite informative about the situation of Palestinians in Lebanon during the 1980s. I found it quite surprising to read that the enemies of the Palestinians in this battle were other Arabs, rather than Israelis, and that the Palestinians were not united behind the PLO, but rather divided into numerous factions, many of which fought against the PLO forces even during the siege. Giannou does an excellent job of explaining the vastly complicated politics behind the battle as well as describing the horrid conditions that the residents of the camp managed to live through.

This book truly represents the tragedy of a needless death in a medical system that must change. My own child died at 14 years of age due to hospital error, and the author and father described those feelings of devastation so well. It is heartbreaking to see another family live through this horror yet reassuring to know that they have turned their grief into positive action. I commend John Lewis for having the courage to share his story and his feelings so honestly and to make efforts to repair the system that failed for Claire. I have recommended this book to many other families and colleagues.