Dying Well: Peace and Possibilities at the End of Life

Rating:
Summary: Spirit and Process Detail
Review: A most beautiful book that brought me to tears more than once. It helped me in writing my healthcare power of attorney. As written above, a must-read for all families who want to have something better than a fearful hospital death drenched in agony - I've seen a few of those and that's not what I want!

Rating:
Summary: Sensitive presentation
Review: Anyone who is or could be a caregiver or patient needs to read this book. A good death is indeed an achievable goal but it is one that requires the active assistance of patient and family if it is to be achieved in this day and age. The medical community does not take the time to present the required information that people need to make informed decisions. This book does the job for them.

Rating:
Summary: Sensitive presentation
Review: Anyone who is or could be a caregiver or patient needs to read this book. A good death is indeed an achievable goal but it is one that requires the active assistance of patient and family if it is to be achieved in this day and age. The medical community does not take the time to present the required information that people need to make informed decisions. This book does the job for them.

Rating:
Summary: Dr. Byock's book is a must read for every family
Review: As a Lutheran minister, author (Project 314), and long-time Hospice spiritual care volunteer, I can heartily recommend Dying Well. Dr. Byock's stories of patients at the end-of-life is a must-read for all families. It informs the reader of the challenges and opportunities that face the patient and caregiver, and of the role of the Hospice organization. His book also challenges all of us who work with Hospice families to do our best.

Rating:
Summary: Dr. Byock's book is a must read for every family
Review: As a Lutheran minister, author (Project 314), and long-time Hospice spiritual care volunteer, I can heartily recommend Dying Well. Dr. Byock's stories of patients at the end-of-life is a must-read for all families. It informs the reader of the challenges and opportunities that face the patient and caregiver, and of the role of the Hospice organization. His book also challenges all of us who work with Hospice families to do our best.

Rating:
Summary: Powerfully honest & deeply human view of death & hospice
Review: As I was struggling through the final months of my mother's life, I stumbled across this inspired book. At some points it was so brutally honest and raw in its assessment of death and hospice issues that I could barely read on, but I felt compelled to. Byock has a rare and valid perspective that deserves discussion--preferably before you are faced with the imminent death of a loved one.

Rating:
Summary: Powerfully honest & deeply human view of death & hospice
Review: I first heard Dr. Byock interviewed on the Diane Ream(?sp) show on NPR when his book was just out. I knew I had to read it for myself and I was not disappointed. The way the information about how things can be handled in a supportive respectful way for all of those involved at the end of life is the best written guide for many of the difficult situations out in the real world that I have found. If we would take advantage of this kind of informed material and spread the good news that death and dying are not to be feared but that we can be helped through it to the benefit of our own well-being and at the same time relieving the suffering of those who are in the last stages of this life, the support for "assisted suicide" would be revealed as the feeble sham that it is. Hospice is a poorly understood and underutilized organization which deserves a second look as well as our support both in time and resources. I had to read this book in small "doses" to take it all in and it was well worth the effort! CF

Rating:
Summary: Excellent reading for both medical and non-medical readers.
Review: I first heard Dr. Byock interviewed on the Diane Ream(?sp) show on NPR when his book was just out. I knew I had to read it for myself and I was not disappointed. The way the information about how things can be handled in a supportive respectful way for all of those involved at the end of life is the best written guide for many of the difficult situations out in the real world that I have found. If we would take advantage of this kind of informed material and spread the good news that death and dying are not to be feared but that we can be helped through it to the benefit of our own well-being and at the same time relieving the suffering of those who are in the last stages of this life, the support for "assisted suicide" would be revealed as the feeble sham that it is. Hospice is a poorly understood and underutilized organization which deserves a second look as well as our support both in time and resources. I had to read this book in small "doses" to take it all in and it was well worth the effort! CF

Rating:
Summary: Helped me when I needed it
Review: I'm the kind of person whose eyes start to glaze over if I try to absorb more than a few pages of social science/self help type writing. I was steered to this book when I was helping my mother as she died. I had so little experience with death that I worried about doing the wrong thing. As I read the stories I was drawn in, absorbing each small "message" with each story. One, about a man whose final gift to his family was to allow them to help him as he died, touched me so deeply I read it to my mother in her last days. I wish I'd read this book earlier but I don't think it could ever be too late.

Rating:
Summary: Helped me when I needed it
Review: I'm the kind of person whose eyes start to glaze over if I try to absorb more than a few pages of social science/self help type writing. I was steered to this book when I was helping my mother as she died. I had so little experience with death that I worried about doing the wrong thing. As I read the stories I was drawn in, absorbing each small "message" with each story. One, about a man whose final gift to his family was to allow them to help him as he died, touched me so deeply I read it to my mother in her last days. I wish I'd read this book earlier but I don't think it could ever be too late.