Achieving a Good Death: A Practical Guide to the End of Life: Chris Palmer: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Achieving a Good Death

A Practical Guide to the End of Life

Achieving a Good Death

A Practical Guide to the End of Life

Description

Death is inevitable, dying badly is not. A good death is achievable, and this book explains how.
There is an art to dying well that can be taught and learned. While death is inevitable, dying badly is not. This practical guide to achieving a good death will reduce the fear that often cloaks discussions about death and dying and give readers the knowledge and skills to achieve a peaceful and gentle death.
With the multiple options available at the end of life, people can design and direct their end-of-life journey so they have as fulfilling and meaningful life as possible right up to the end and achieve the elusive good death when the time comes. Chapters focus on essential elements of living well and preparing for a good death including:
Death cleaning so we don’t burden our loved ones with a big messTalking with loved ones and doctors about our end-of-life wishes and aspirations so they know what matters to us and how we want to be treatedWriting a legacy letter (an ethical will) and a memoir to let loved ones know what is deep in our hearts.Understanding caregivers, an under-appreciated group of people, usually unpaid women, who number in the millions.The benefits of palliative care, hospice care, and end-of-life doulas and the necessary vigilance to get the most out of these essential services.End-of-life options, including medical-aid-in-dying (MAID) and voluntarily stopping eating and drinking (VSED).What it’s like to die and how to help people as they die.Options for disposition of the body of a loved one (or your own body) after death, especially in an economically and ecologically responsible wayPlanning commemorations and celebrations of life.The nature of grief, including how to deal with it, and why it is often unbearably painful.This thoughtful and gentle guide, exploring one of the most difficult human topics, equips every reader with the information they need to overcome the anxiety and confusion that so often overwhelms end-of-life planning so they may intentionally plan for “a good death” that will provide comfort for all during one’s final act.

Product details

Published	Oct 01 2024
Format	Hardback
Edition	1st
Extent	338
ISBN	9781475850512
Imprint	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Illustrations	2 BW Photos
Dimensions	0 x 0 inches
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing

As a physician for many years, I wish I had Chris Palmer’s book Achieving a Good Death as a resource for my patients and families. He tackles head-on the practical issues we all face but shy away from dealing with them. Each of us deserves a dignified and meaningful end of life, and this book is a sure-fire guide to achieving that noble goal.

Kurt Newman, MD, president emeritus, Children's National Hospital, and author of Healing Children: A Surgeon's Stories from the Frontiers of Pediatric Medicine
Palmer, an astute and sensitive researcher, has culled, sorted, and presented the best from many evidence-based sources. He gives voice to unspoken fears like degradation, pity, and shame and adds valuable and original suggestions for ethical wills, legacy letters, memoirs, and eulogies from his expertise as a writer and storyteller. Bravo for this eminently helpful and deeply meaningful book.

Barbara Coombs Lee, author of Finish Strong: Putting Your Priorities First at Life's End, and president emerita/senior advisor, Compassion and Choices
With insightful prose and personal anecdotes, Palmer challenges the sanitized portrayal of death prevalent in media and confronts the taboo surrounding discussions about mortality. Readers are encouraged to embrace the reality of death as a natural part of life, empowering them to approach the end with dignity, agency, and peace. A thought-provoking, must-read that invites readers to contemplate the profound meaning of life and the importance of living fully until the very end.

Mikhail Kogan, MD, medical director, GW Center for Integrative Medicine, associate professor of medicine, and associate director of Geriatric Fellowship at George Washington University; author of Integrative Geriatric Medicine
Chris Palmer sheds light on the elusive ‘good death’ and provides solid, practical advice for how to take control and have agency in living and dying well. For those of us in the aging field, Palmer’s book is a refreshing complement to his insightful workshops on death and dying. Achieving a Good Death belongs in everyone’s personal library and should be shared with family and friends.

Barbara Hughes Sullivan, executive director, Village to Village Network
Chris Palmer has written an important and incredibly useful book designed to give the reader the skills and knowledge to live fully to the end of life and to have a good death. Everyone should read this book and imbibe its wisdom.

Steven Petrow, contributing columnist, The Washington Post, and author of Stupid Things I Won't Do When I Get Old
Achieving a Good Death: A Practical Guide to the End of Life is just EXCELLENT. It addresses all of the areas involved in end-of-life decision-making and educates about the actual dying process and grieving. Comprehensive, direct, and not overly medically phrased, this book is for caregivers, grievers, and those who want a more sacred end-of-life experience.

Barbara Karnes, RN, hospice pioneer, and author of Gone From My Sight: The Dying Experience