Final Passages [Hardcover]

Judith Ahronheim (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1992

Helps the millions of people suffering from terminal illness ease the passage from life to death with advice from physicians, lawyers, and medical ethicists.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The "fear of pain" in terminally ill patients is one of the major reasons euthanasia or assisted suicide is requested or used. Cundiff's book gives the physician's viewpoint on the current movement to legalize euthanasia. Advocating the training of medical personnel in pain management so they can better treat terminally ill patients, Cundiff also urges having families, medical staff, and the clergy working together to make dying patients' last months and days comfortable. Appendixes include a copy of the "Proposed California Death with Dignity Act," letters from various organizations on their views of human suffering, and a list of references for further reading. Ahronheim and Weber's Final Passages covers all the same topics as Cundiff in addition to providing information on specific terminal illnesses and specific medications for pain relief. A list of resources covers different types of organizations for specific diseases, consumer groups, and lists of other healthcare-related organizations. Both books are very well written, easy to read and understand, and full of thought-provoking information. However, Final Passages is a better choice for readers dealing with a terminal illness for the first time and who need a practical guide. Cundiff's book is an excellent choice for collections dealing with the ethical, social, and medical issues of euthanasia. See also Joni Eareckson Tada's When Is It Right To Die? , reviewed in this issue, p. 81.--Ed.
-Betsy Kraus, Environmental Evaluation Group, Albuquerque
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (June 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671780255
• ISBN-13: 978-0671780258
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,366,193 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars ISSUES TO FACE WHEN DYING, September 15, 2010

By 

James L. Park "James Leonard Park" (Minneapolis, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Final Passages (Paperback)

Judith Ahronheim, MD & Doron Weber

Final Passages:
Positive Choices for the Dying and Their Loved Ones

(New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992) 285 pages

A very helpful book for thinking about end-of-life choices,
filled with real-life illustrations of people who prepared well for death
--and others who did not.

Themes covered:
(1) Becoming serious and verbal about our own deaths;
(2) Improving communications among doctors, patient, & family;
(This chapter also includes discussion of
the most common causes of death.);
(3) The right-to-die and irrational suicide,
including physician involvement in ending life;
(4) Pain control and comfort care;
(5) Clinical depression upon facing death--and treating it;
(6) Natural shutting down of the body as death approaches;
(7) Hospice;
(8) Living wills;
(9) Financial problems and planning for terminal care,
nursing homes, & death;
(10) Emotional responses to the prospect of dying.

If you want additional help in getting ready for the end,
search the Internet for the following bibliography:
"Best Books on Preparing for Death".

James Leonard Park, existential philosopher.