The End-of-Life Advisor: Personal, Legal, and Medical Considerations for a Peaceful, Dignified Death (Hardcover)

by Susan Dolan (Author), Audrey R Vizzard (Author)
Key Phrases: healthcare agent, hospice team, hospice nurse, Bill Dolan, World War

Editorial Reviews

Review
“A source of reliable information and guidance for life’s last and most difficult situations….Natural story-tellers, the authors deftly tell lively, colorful stories of people caught in extraordinary circumstances to convey lessons that we all would be wise to learn. I will recommend this book to patients and families.”

—Ira Byock, MD, Director of Palliative Care, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, New Hampshire, author of Dying Well and The Four Things that Matter Most

 

“Packed with wisdom, compassion, humor, and most of all hope, this book offers something for everyone. Readers will find an invaluable handbook that touches on every aspect of planning and preparing for excellent end-of-life care.”

—Barbara Dossey, PhD, RN, AHN-BC, FAAN, International Co-Director, Nightingale Initiative for Global Health, author of Holistic Nursing

 

“Once I started reading this book I couldn’t stop. It seemed like I was reading a diary of my last 25 years as a hospice physician. What a wonderful, extraordinary and uplifting gift. For a long-time ‘hospice road warrior,’ the book brought not only many smiles and frank laughter, but many tearful moments for me, too...all reminding me that this chosen work is, too, a gift.”

—Perry G. Fine, MD, Professor of Anesthesiology, Pain Research Center, School of Medicine, University of Utah, author of The Hospice Companion

 

“Weaving stories from their decades of experience with patients, this mother-daughter team has crafted a true gem. This approachable book illuminates the need for conversations about end-of-life choices and demonstrates the grace of hospice. It is a wonderful tool to enable people of all ages to follow the sage advice, ‘From the start, consider the finish.’”

—Nathan A. Kottkamp, JD, Chairman, National Healthcare Decisions Day, Healthcare Attorney, McGuireWoods LLP, Richmond, Virginia

 

“The End-of-Life Advisor is a mandatory resource. Whether you are a patient, their family or support system, a health care professional or a student, The End-of-Life Advisor will enhance your knowledge while enriching your spirit!”

—Ellen Fink-Samnick LCSW, CCM, CRC, Clinician, Trainer, Educator, EFS Supervision Strategies

 

Product Description
In this simple guide, you’ll find both practical step-by-step advice and compassionate, heartfelt guidance to dramatically improve the last days of life. Written by a mother-daughter team of hospice volunteers with experience in nursing, law, and psychology, The End-of-Life Advisor will show you the remarkable benefits of hospice care.

If you’re a healthcare or legal professional, you’ll discover the important ways you can advise your patients and clients. If you’re caring for a loved one, you’ll learn how you can help make their last days much more comfortable. If you’re planning for yourself, you’ll understand the decisions you need to make now – so you can find greater peace down the road.

You’ll get basic practical information on the ways a person can make their wishes known and maintain control over their end-of-life experience. This includes living wills, power of attorney for healthcare, Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) orders, choosing hospice care, managing pain, increasing comfort ad making after-death plans.

Along the way you’ll find inspirational, emotional, and often humorous stories of positive end-of-life experiences – where pain and fear were replaced with comfort and peace.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Kaplan Publishing (December 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1427798397
• ISBN-13: 978-1427798398
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #270,072 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book about life, love, and the gift of hospice care!, April 27, 2009

By	Dr. Moses B. Altsech - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Hospice doesn't care for dying patients; it cares for living patients! It cares for patients who need not just pain management and vital information, but compassionate, personal, heartfelt care.

I met one of the co-authors of "The End of Life Advisor," Susan Dolan, at a hospice conference where we were both speakers, before I ever read her book. I was impressed by her outlook, her passion, her eagerness to make a difference in people's lives, and I was determined to read the book! Granted, I was also a bit apprehensive: I expected a grim, depressing, encyclopedic book that would be informative, but difficult (and unpleasant) to read. And I was wrong.

"The End of Life Advisor" is certainly informative, but it's neither grim nor depressing. How can that possibly be, you ask? It's because this book is full of uplifting, exciting, sometimes even funny stories that celebrate life! Surely it's a book that's informative about important issues, such as managing pain, the value and experience of hospice, creating a will or planning a funeral. But it's also a book full of dialogue so compelling it often reads like a novel! You'll eavesdrop as Vincent tells Ira, a hospice volunteer, about storming Omaha Beach on D-Day; you'll chuckle at Art Buchwald's experience with hospice; you'll almost taste the raspberry tea with honey as you visit with Big Bess and Little Bess! It's clear that this is a personal, intimately written book by two authors with a wealth of experience with hospice care.

Who should read "The End of Life Advisor"? Hospice staff and volunteers will definitely grab a copy; they'll see themselves and their patients through the pages, and reaffirm the importance and meaning of everything they do. Family members of loved ones who had the good fortune of being in the care of hospice angels will laugh, cry, and celebrate their family members' lives in every page. But this is truly a book for everyone with a friend or family member who died from an illness, and a book for everyone who may one day die themselves (I'm stubbornly avoiding death myself, but I suspect my turn might eventually come too). The information will make a world of difference, and the stories will help anyone look at life (not just death) in a different light. What a great read!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just the help you need, January 1, 2009

By	John L. McCreight (Hilton Head Island, SC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a pastor for 61 years I have worked with many families who struggled through difficult days because they didn't have the help that Susan Dolan and Audrey Vizzard provide in such a readable and comforting style. This book is a most helpful tool for every pastor and counselor to use effectively as they prepare their families for the inevitable.

John McCreight, M.Div., D.Min. Presbyterian pastor.The End-of-Life Advisor: Personal, Legal, and Medical Considerations for a Peaceful, Dignified Death

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gentle, Compassionate Guide to Living Well Until the End , December 31, 2008

By	Patricia Crisafulli "Interested Reader" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

The End of Life Advisor is a warm, compassionate, and informative guide. With expert advice and heart-warming (and even humorous) stories, the authors invite readers to consider how they want to their lives to end. It is an essential resource for families who are providing care for a loved one, encouraging people to engage in conversation about life, legacy, and last wishes. Blending their expertise in nursing, hospice and palliative care, law, and psychology, this mother-daughter author team reminds us that dying well is part of living a good life.