Sheila Himmel

At this point in my life I have been facing some major decisions and most are very difficult. Many have to do with my elderly grandmother that is suffering from the disease known as Alzheimer's. It has destroyed both her mind and her spirit and has left a shell of a being that we hardly recognize. At this moment in time we are in the process of preparing her for hospice. In desperation I have sought out information from my local library, since my other relatives are deceased. I never thought that I would have to make end of life decisions for a grandparent at the age of 35. This book has been a tremendous help for me and has allowed me to ask questions of both the home health nurse and hospice nurse.

It has brought comfort in the idea that I know that my grandmother will be given an opportunity to transition with dignity. I support the concept that elders should be allowed to pass away in their home if possible. If you have a loved one that is entering the hospice program than this book is a must read. There is so much stress involved when it comes to the end of stage life, that it really helps to have some extra advice on the side. Death does not have to be scary for either the family or the person transitioning. I highly recommend this book to both caregivers and family members.… (mehr)

I received this book for free as part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program; this review is not affected by this fact.

I'm not sure "enjoyed" is a good word for this book, since it's definitely not an easy read - but it is worth reading and I'm glad I did. I appreciated the use of different families' stories, although some were heartbreaking and really hit home, having experienced the death of my grandfather-in-law in a less than ideal way. The information on the origins and original goals of hospice was fascinating, and led me to search out other information (there's a fascinating documentary about Bethesda Hospice produced by the BBC that I highly recommend, if you can find it). I've been encouraged to start/continue conversations with my wife, parents, and in-laws about what we really want to happen as time goes on. Not easy, but necessary.… (mehr)