In this moving and compassionate classic, hospice nurses Maggie Callanan and Patricia Kelley share their intimate experiences with patients at the end of life, drawn from more than twenty years’ experience tending the terminally ill. Through their stories we come to appreciate the near-miraculous ways in which the dying communicate their needs, reveal their feelings, and even choreograph their own final moments; we also discover the gifts — of wisdom, faith, and love — that the dying leave for the living to share. Filled with practical advice on responding to the requests of the dying and helping them prepare emotionally and spiritually for death, Final Gifts shows how we can help the dying person live fully to the very end.
Dave Isay selects the most memorable stories from StoryCorps' collection, creating a moving portrait of American life. The voices here connect us to real people and their lives — to their experiences of profound joy, sadness, courage, and despair, to good times and hard times, to good deeds and misdeeds. To read this book is to be reminded of how rich and varied the American storybook truly is, how resistant to easy categorization or stereotype. We are our history, individually and collectively, and this book reminds us of this powerful truth.
Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Sharlene from Real Life Reading that encourages bloggers to share the books they have checked out from the library. Both of these are from the Crown Center's library.
*Speaking of dying, someone shared this story yesterday in the Café (you need to know her mother died decades ago):
"I think I died just after midnight. Mother came for me, but said, 'Not yet,' and I woke up and was back in my bed, alive. When she came and seemed to be looking for me, I said, 'I'm here on this chair and . . .' Then I searched for the other word that I needed — ottoman — which was where my feet were resting. Mother looked at me, said those two words 'Not yet,' and faded away."
Was that a near death experience? She said she was in bed, but her vision said chair and ottoman. What's up with that? Will she die in her chair, maybe soon?
(Note: Speaking of "a near death experience," on page 173 near the end of the book In the Middle of the Night by Robert Cormier, I was surprised to read these words from a character in the book who had died briefly and was brought back to life: "There's nothing out there Baby. Now you know why I never wanted to tell you what happened. No matter what the priests or the ministers say, or those people talking about near-death experiences." I finished reading those last pages of Cormier's book a mere nine days after writing this post.)
"School: Are you still friends with anyone from that time in your life?"We heard details at a meeting, and an old school friend had just sent me a letter with this old B/W photo of the two of us. (B/W is an abbreviation referring to a photograph in shades of black and white as opposed to a color photograph.) That's Shirley on the left and me on the right in the 1950s.
1 comment:
Final Gifts sounds very interesting. I've read a few books about hospice care (Dear Life by Rachel Clarke remains the best) but am always intrigued to read more. When done well, it really is such a gift.
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