Customer Reviews

Last Rights: Rescuing the End of Life from the Medical System

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When asked, the overwhelming percentage of people thinking about their own deaths say that they want to die at home, either alone or with family around and without pain.

About 1200 people a day make it this way. The other 5300 who die on an average day die in a hospital, surrounded by machines and strangers, and often in pain because the doctors are afraid to give to many drugs to patients where the government might come down on them.

My own father reached a point where he was given six months to a year to live. Or he could have an operation. He had the operation. Only afterward were we told that now he had perhaps one to five years. He lived a year and a half, and was in pain every day. The medical profession did not do him a favor.

For me this book can be summed up by four sentences on the last page, they reflect my exact hopes for myself when the time comes:

'Dozens of people taught me that same lesson during my research. They did not fear death, but they feared dying badly. They did not want to live forever, but they wanted to live well for as long as possible. They did not want to die one moment too soon, but they did not want to suffer one moment too long.'

As a hospice medical director I have been greatly moved by this book. All the palliative texts I own cannot compare to the perspective of this book. I am buying copies for my hospice team, nursing home and any wayward physicians who create "problems" for our hospice clients. A must read for everyone, especially medical students in line to deal with this.

This is a "Must Read" for everyone! As an R.N with 32 years experience (12 yrs critical care & 7 yrs In-Patient Hospice) it is my privilege to endorse this book. Mr. Kiernan has clearly and accurately documented what is a reality that will ultimately affect every single one of us. In both scope and depth Mr. Kiernan has spoken the truth. He has not embellished, exaggerated or dramatized any detail of his book. Every human being deserves to die in peace (spiritual and emotional) and free from pain. This is a goal which is attainable but I can assure you that your chances of experiencing this are not good in any of today's modern acute care hospitals or nursing homes. (There are always exceptions). Hospice care is the only option and that is primarily because hospice is not a place but a philosophy of care. All physicians can manage the care of an acutely ill person but only a few physicians are qualified to manage your care if you are dying because the vast majority of physicians do not recognize or they refuse to accept that there is a difference. Please read this book. It could be one of the most important things you ever do both for yourself and for those whom you love.

Barb Lyons, R.N.

This is a very powerful book. The unpreparedness of the nation's health care system to deal with end of life issues has seldom been better documented. What really makes this a worthy read are the lessons gleaned from every page through the experiences of others -- some families and children, some spouses, some the dying themselves -- that allow a small crack in the door to that final unknown awaiting us all. The personal narratives of those who have gone ahead will churn up emotions you never thought were there. Bravo to the author for an uplifting treatment of such a potentially depressing -- but necessary -- subject.

I purchased this book while my grandmother was in the hospital with her final illness, and I was dealing with my frustration about what I perceived to be her needless suffering of "Hail Mary" life-extending treatment (most involving knives, tubes and machines of various sorts). I wish my father and his siblings had read it before making some of the medical decisions they did. I viewed what she went through as slow-motion torture over the course of 3 months.

Last Rights helped me realize that what my family was going through was common, why the medical system evolved to operate the way it does, and what options there might be for a more dignified and humane end-of-life experience. The book is educational, but doesn't read like a sterile textbook by any means. It's well leavened with human context from both the author's own life, and the everyday lives of interesting people he met in the course of researching his book.

My dad was diagnosed with congestive heart failure in 2005. This book provides wonderful insights on how the end of life can be as good or better then any other part of our lives. A quote that summarizes the book is "It's not how you begin the journey, it's how you end it." With more and more people being diagnosed with long term illnesses, this book gives family and friends insights and hope on how to make the end of life journey an amazing gift to both the patient and the caregivers. I highly recommend!!

Being a hospice nurse for 8 yrs., I may be prejudiced. But I believe all MD's and nurses should read this. I have bought a copy for our hospice, one for our church library and one for an MD friend who I hope will share it with his fellow MDs. Even we in the business have a difficult time convincing the medical community when we try to advocate comfort care for our own patients and family members.

A great read for anyone interested in the state of the US healthcare system and its impact on the care of those sufferng from a terminal illness. This book intersperses quantitative data with personal stories and provides the reader with a deeper understanding of the dying process and the options available to individuals living out their last few days, weeks or months.

I've read this book, it's uplifting, informative, inspiring, so well written and I believe everyone should own it. I gave it to a friend of mine who is losing her father, he is in trauma ICU and has no hope of recovery. After spending one day reading this book my friend is making decisions with her family and with her father's best wishes at heart. She finds this book a gigantic help. I am grateful to Mr. Kiernan for writing this book and helping us all to learn to die well.

This book was just what was needed to reassure our family that our decision for Hospice care was the right course for our elderly parent's end of life. It contained so many good suggestions that we were able to act upon. It helped us all cope with our loss, both before and after the actual death.

I recommend this book HIGHLY if you are facing a similar situation. The constant focus is on Quality of life and comfort during one's last days, just what my father wanted! Very reassuring!