Death Care Books

Ms. Klein explains the basics about the grieving process. She has a wonderful way of talking about a very painful and uncomfortable subject. It allowed me to look at death and grief as issues which can be talked about openly. I was refreshed after reading her clear and consise way of confronting the issues of multiple loss. An excellent choice!!!!!

Sensitively written by Clydene Lockler, a devout Christian who survived the loss of her husband to a twenty-month bout with terminal cancer, Help! Someone I Love Is Dying is a powerful and profound guide to surviving the emotions that arise within from saying goodbye to a loved one. Help! Someone I Love Is Dying offers practical advice, quotes from scripture, vignettes, and straightforward responses to hard questions, including the most difficult one of all: Why? Divided into two sections, one addressing coping before death, and one addressing coping after, Help! Someone I Love Is Dying embraces the power of faith and the love of God. A final chapter, titled For Christians Only, expressly discusses eternal life through accepting Jesus Christ as one's savior. A comforting testimony, most attuned to Christians due to the numerous quotes from Scripture, yet offering wisdom and guidance to readers of all faiths.

This book, written by several well known and published authors lends experienced commentary as to what to do to help; what to say and what not to say. It should be in the library of every counselors, pastors and those interested in helping others. It covers a wide variety of crisis, disaster and traumatic events.

Our decision to put my mother into hospice was made alot simpler by doing some research into the pros and cons of the hospice experience. Hospice has many pros and relatively few cons and it is a valid option to explore. There are different types of hospices - I didn't know that before I read the book.

The Drs in the book suggest certain questions be asked and if you ask them you will get the answers you need such that you can make an informed decison.

At the moment, I am immersing myself in literature about death and dying, as I hope to work as a volunteer in the palliative care field. This book is an absolute revelation. It puts into perspective so well the pain I recently suffered at the loss of a very close and dear friend.

The brilliant thing about this book is that Dr Buckman has been exposed to the suffering of serious illness and grief both as a Dr and as a patient. Having had leukaemia (and survived) as a young adult 30 years ago, I found every word in this book about the suffering of the 'terminally ill' (as I was told I was, so long ago) struck a familiar chord.

This is one of the most comprehensive and compassionate books on death, dying, bereavement and grief available today. If you, or a friend or loved one, is supporting someone with a life-threatening illness, this book will be a tremendous support. Do yourself a favour and buy it!

After more than fifteen years in health care as a medical social worker, I've seen my share of QI ideas. Believe me, this is the best book I've ever seen on this subject. It is everything you as a health care professional would need to get serious about using quality improvement to make real changes in practice--and in principle. If you work in end-of-life care and are tired of seeing patients with unrelieved pain, want to move beyond the living will to comprehensive advance care planning, are willing to recognize the role of spirituality in bereavement--just for example--the information you need is here. This is not your ordinary quality improvement book. It talks about real action and practical ways to change entrenched systems. The quotes at the beginning of the chapters are from Will Rogers and Yoda and Anonymous: "Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the Ark. Professionals built the Titanic." The authors, Dr. Joanne Lynn, Janice Lynch Schuster, and Andrea Kabcenell, have a penchant for clear writing and well-organized outlines. The book is sponsored by the Center to Improve Care of the Dying and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. If you are ready to start improving end-of-life care tomorrow, read the book today.

This book is a good read. I attended a hospice seminar and met Joy Ufema. Her book inspires me to have more insight as to what the pt feels. I highly recommend this book if you're interested in learning through the lens of others.
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Kieran Healy does an excellent job of showing how blood and organ donation is not simply a question of altruism, a belief held by many. The author shows, in a convincing manner, that the social organization of organ procurement has significant effects on the success rate of the different establishments charged with collecting donations. Organ donation is an incredibly sensitive subject - after all, one person's life depends on another's death - so it is wrong to ignore the social and cultural context in which decisions will be made about it. A talented writer, Kieran Healy tells a fascinating story of an important subject that has seen increasing press coverage, but never with the necessary level of careful considersation that is presented in this book.

As a sidenote, the book's layout is very classy. Some books are hard to read because of annoying font and confusing layout. This one is a pleasure to pick up not only thanks to its content, but also the careful design.

Disclosure: I went to graduate school with the author and followed the development of his work in this domain. This book is a wonderful product of his thinking and research on this topic over the years.

This book contains valuable "hows" and "whys" for conducting today's funerals. It gives the philosophical framework and the practical "how-to's" that Pastors need to conduct a funeral that is honoring to the deceased and helpful to family and friends. Dan Lloyd has a tremendous amount of experience, which is evident in this book. You will find the basics you need to effectively minister in times of crisis and death. I heartily recommend this book!

Margaret Battin is a philosopher who has brought more clarity to thinking about the different ways cultures deal with death than anyone in the field. Not only this, she has taken the trouble to look at the actual processes of dying with a clear view of the issues at stake both for populations and for individuals.

Once one realizes that many deaths won't be "cakewalks" (excuse the expression), one can see why she chose the title "The Least Worst Death" for her book. Actually a huge proportion of deaths are from long-term degenerative diseases; an equally large proportion occur in hospitals or long-term care facilities; and dignified is perhaps the last word one would use to describe the "exit strategy" most Americans will be forced to choose from unless the medical profession and state laws change.

With a great sensitivity to the cultural factors that ought to shape choices governing public policy in the area of death and dying, she argues for a "cultural fit" between public policy and historical and social practices. If one plans to read only a few books on the topic of death and dying, this one would have to be among the top 2-3 books on one's list.