Ethical Wills: Putting Your Values on Paper [Paperback]

Barry K. Baines (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 24, 2001

A comprehensive, step-by-step resource, Ethical Wills gently guides us through the process of creating what can be one of the most valuable and cherished documents we leave behind. Clarifying and communicating the meaning of our lives for those who will survive us, an ethical will helps us reflect on and share our life's experience. Those who want to be remembered authentically and for their gifts of heart, mind, and spirit will take satisfaction in knowing that what they value most is "on the record," not to be lost or forgotten. Both a practical and a spiritual tool to use at any stage of life, Ethical Wills helps readers create, preserve, and share this important document with friends and family.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Doctor and hospice director Barry K. Baines guides the dying on taking charge of the emotional legacies they leave behind in Ethical Wills: Putting Your Values on Paper. Defining an ethical will as "a vehicle for clarifying and communicating the meaning in our lives to our families and communities," Baines draws on an ancient practice that he has put to use in hospice work with more than 3,000 people as they prepared for death. A benefit to the dying, their loved ones and people not facing an imminent death but wanting to clarify and communicate their experience, ethical wills can be letters, lists, confessions, requests and a host of other kinds of communication. Baines discusses their history, their significance and how to make them, with numerous examples.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Baines is the nation's leading ethical will proponent." -- San Diego Union-Tribune 03/21/04

"This user-friendly volume is a must-have resource for families who are on a spiritual journey." -- Spirituality and Health February, 2002

"[This book] has attracted people, including women, of many faiths to craft ethical wills at various life junctures." -- Fort Wayne News-Sentinel 03/12/04

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (December 24, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738206113
• ISBN-13: 978-0738206110
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,091,016 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Overview of Ethical Wills, August 4, 2003

By 

Amber Dahlin, founder of Writing Adventures (Idaho Springs, Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ethical Wills: Putting Your Values on Paper (Paperback)

Ethical Wills: Putting Your Values on Paper provides a terrific introduction to ethical wills, with historical background, specific guidelines for writing an ethical will, and a variety of samples. With its reader-friendly tone and clear suggestions, Ethical Wills makes a useful handbook for anyone interested in creating such a document. I especially appreciated the sample wills to show a range of approaches.
This book was a great help to me when I started writing ethical wills. As a member of the Association of Personal Historians, I help others record their own ethical wills and family stories. I keep this book in my professional library and recommend it often.
My only beef? It's too short! I wanted more samples and more history. Guess I'll have to wait for Dr. Baines' next book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Guide for People of All Ages, January 12, 2002

By 

Linda Norlander (North St. Paul, MN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ethical Wills: Putting Your Values on Paper (Paperback)

While most of us at some time in our lives have thought about the kind of legacy we would like to leave behind, few of us have actually written the words down. How do we want to be remembered? What messages do we want to leave for our families, and the significant people in our lives? Dr. Barry Baines has written an excellent guidebook on how to put these words and thoughts on paper. His writing is straightforward, understandable and filled with humor. More importantly, the book is rich with examples. Dr. Baines has collected "ethical" wills from people of all ages and stages of life. As Dr. Dan Tobin writes in the foreword, ". . .you will find that this book is not only about creating such documents, but about living and aging well." Buy the book today and start putting your values on paper. Your words will be one of the greatest gifts you can bestow on those you love.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read!, November 5, 2005

By 

ellen (Detroit, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ethical Wills: Putting Your Values on Paper (Paperback)

Ethical Wills is a must read for each and everyone of us! Not only is it fascinating to learn about the history behind such wills, but the workbook he provides the readers with is such an valuable tool.
We all need to be concerned about writing an ethical will while we are still able to communicate our wishes. My late mother had Alzheimer's and it was so very devastating and frightening to see her no longer able to communicate her wishes. Thankfully, we had spoken about what she wanted her last wishes to be long before Alzheimer's destroyed her mind.
I do not know if I, too, will one day suffer her same fate so I am taking all of the necessary steps NOW while I am still able to communicate to make my final wishes known. This book has been an invaluable help to me as well as another wonderful new publication by Renata Marie Vestevich. "Grant Me My Final Wish: A personal journal to simplify life's inevitable journey." This book is a wonderful companion to Dr. Baine's book. While his book is a workbook of sorts, Ms. Vestevich's book is a beautifully bound journal that you can write in whenever you have time. These two books work beautifully together. Ms. Vestevich's book leads you gently through the process of making your final wishes known to your loved ones. She guides you through the process of making that ethical will in a very compassionate manner. There is even a place within the journal for you to place beloved pictures and write down special memories.
None of us likes to dwell upon our eventual death. However, having seen my mother destroyed by Alzheimer's and her being no longer able to communicate even the simplest of wishes, I strongly urge all of you to take steps now to make your last wishes known!
These two superbly written books...each very special in their very own way..will help you do just that.