Books

FLOATING IN THE DEEP END - HOW CAREGIVERS CAN SEE BEYOND ALZHEIMER'S
PATTI DAVIS

"Wise, compassionate - and gorgeously written- words from Patti Davis, who lived the pain of Alzheimers with her father, Ronald Reagan, and who wanted to share what she had researched and learned to help others. This is a truly stunning memoir about helping afflicted loved ones have their best lives while they can, and it's also absolutely essential reading for anyone who ages- and that means all of us."
-Caroline Leavitt

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ADVICE FOR FUTURE CORPSES* A PRACTICAL PERSPECTIVE ON DEATH AND DYING
SALLIE TISDALE
 

" Sallie Tisdale provides a frank, direct and compassionate meditation on the inevitable, including thoughts on: A Good Death, Communication, Last months, weeks, days and hours, bodies, grief..."

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BEING MORTAL
ATUL GAWANDE

"Modern medicine has transformed the dangers of birth, injury, and infectious disease from harrowing to manageable. But when it comes to the inescapable realities of aging and death, what medicine can do often runs counter to what it should do. Through eye-opening research and gripping stories of his own patients and family, Gawande reveals the suffering produced by medicine's neglect of the wishes people might have beyond mere survival.  To find out what those wishes are, we need to ask. We haven't been asking, but we can learn.  Riveting, honest, and humane, this remarkable book, which has already changed the national conversation on aging and death, shows how the ultimate goal is not a good death but a good life - all the way to the very end."
 

ALREADY TOAST - CAREGIVING AND BURNOUT IN AMERICA
KATE WASHINGTON

"Kate Washington movingly describes caring for her extremely ill husband... With [a] keen wit to leaven her load, Washington's description of a young family turned upside down and the difficulty in finding support and respite hits home, and underscores the societal cost of millions of unpaid family caregivers."
-Marilyn Dahl

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DEATH IS BUT A DREAM - FINDING HOPE AND MEANING AT LIFE'S END
Christopher Kerr, MD, PhD with Carine Mardorossian, PhD

"Remebering the revealing end-of-life experiences my own father had, I was fascinated by this book. It treats an area of medical ignorance and societal nativete. Whether you have a loved one nearing the end or are contemplating what may lie beyond this life, you'll find that Dr. Kerr's book brings meaning and even beauty to our final stage. I recommend it highly for anyone with a finite life-span." 
-Dale Bredensen, MD

 

BEARING THE UNBEARABLE - LOVE, LOSS AND THE HEARTBREAKING PATH OF GRIEF
JOANNE CACCIATORE, PhD

"When a loved one dies, the pain of loss can feel unbearable - especially in the case of a traumatizing death that leaves us shouting "NO!" with every fiber of our body. The process of grieving can feel wild and nonlinear - and often lasts for much longer than other people, the nonbereaved, tell us it should.
  Organized into 52 short chapters, Bearing the Unbearable is a companion for life's most difficult times, revealing how grief can open our hearts to connection, compassion, and the very essence of our shared humanity. Dr. Joanne Cacciatore-bereavment educator, researcher, Zen priest, and leading counselor in the field-accompanies us along the heartbreaking path of love, loss and grief, Through moving stories of her encounters with grief over decades of supporting individuals, families and communities- as well as her own experience with loss - Cacciatore opens a space to process, integrate, and deeply honor our grief." 

YOURS TRULY - AN OBITUARY WRITER'S GUIDE TO TELLING YOUR STORY
JAMES R. HAGERTY - WALL STREET JOURNAL REPORTER

"Someday, your life story is likely to be boiled down to a few lines. If you leave things to chance, your obituary is almost sure to be solemn, formulatic, and full of errors - an obligatory final chaper written in haste by others. James R. Hagerty, longtime obit writer for the Wall Street Journal, knows how to get the job done right: Do it yourself, starting now, while you still can."


PASSAGES IN CAREGIVING - TURNING CHAOS INTO CONFIDENCE
GAIL SHEEHY

"Sheehy identifies eight crucial stages of caregiving and offers insight for successfully naviating each one. With empathy and intelligence, backed with formidable research, and interspersed with poignant stories of her experience and that of other caregivers, Passages in Caregiving addresses the needs of this enormous and growing group.  A beautiful companion guide for all those in the caregiver role. A very moving account of love and suffering."

 

OTHERS TITLES TO CONSIDER

TALKING ABOUT DEATH - VIRGINIA MORRIS

FEELING LEFT BEHIND (Permission to Grieve) - KIM MURDOCK

GOODBYE, THINGS - FUMIO SASAKI

LIVING AT THE END OF LIFE - KAREN WHITLEY BELL, RN

AT THE BEDSIDE - GABRIELLE ELISE JIMENEZ

STEPPING STONES - FOLLOWING A PATHWAY TO THE END OF LIFE - ELLIE ATHERTON

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