From the Publisher
Handbook for Mortals is warmly addressed to all those who wish to approach the final years of life with greater awareness of what to expect and greater confidence about how to make the end of our lives a time for growth, comfort, and meaningful reflection. Written by Drs. Joanne Lynn and Joan Harrold and a variety of experts from nursing, hospice, counseling, and the arts, this book provides equal measures of practical information and gentle insight. Readers will learn what decisions they will need to face, where to look for help, how to ease pain and other symptoms, what to expect with specific diseases, and how the health-care system operates. Equally important to this practical information are the personal stories included here of how people have come to terms with dying, faced their fears, and made important choices.
From down-to-earth advice on how to talk to your doctor to inspiring quotes from such writers as W. H. Auden, Jane Kenyon, and others, Handbook for Mortals encompasses the needs of both the body and the spirit in our final years.
ForeWord Magazine -
P.C. Voice
In tackling this tough and touchy subject, the doctors manage to avoid the sugary sweetness of false hope while offering down-to-earth, encouraging advice of how to deal with a life-threatening illness.... Without telling anyone what they have to do, the authors provide paths based on their own and actual patients' experiences to follow, should one wish.... If death has become more real through a serious illness—whether for oneself or another—here is nicely-written guiding light through the tunnel of fear, confusion and grief that such a diagnosis brings.
Lisa Stepp
As we are living and dying in the information age, patients and family members often wish to increase their awareness regarding issues related to end of life. In this text the authors eloquently speak to all of us in regard to the experience of serious and terminal illness. The directness of their style gives a personal feel to the information, as do the very personal stories that are shared. The poetry and pictures are moving and cathartic. According to the authors, the purpose is to guide individuals faced with serious illness and death through this very human experience. The authors provide practical and reassuring information that we will all need at one time or another. As physicians, the authors bring the compassion expected from a physician as well as a wealth of knowledge and experience to this topic. The information is appropriate for family members, loved ones, patients, and caregivers. As our modern medical technology continues to change the way we live and die, our need grows even stronger for direction in managing difficult emotions and decisions at the end of life. All facets of end of life care from how to talk with your physician to the specifics of planning ahead for special circumstances are covered in this text. Truly, this is a compassionate yet direct explanation of what to expect and how to deal with changes during this time. The authors address the issue of addiction versus tolerance and addiction head on. This text is the most comprehensive to be found on this topic. Most of the literature available to date regarding end of life issues have been very clinical in their focus; however, this text is aptly named a handbook for all -- clinicians and laypersons -- can benefit from this book.
Doody Review Services
Reviewer:Lisa Stepp, PhD, RN, APN, AOCN, CRNH (Private Practice)
Description:As we are living and dying in the information age, patients and family members often wish to increase their awareness regarding issues related to end of life. In this text the authors eloquently speak to all of us in regard to the experience of serious and terminal illness. The directness of their style gives a personal feel to the information, as do the very personal stories that are shared. The poetry and pictures are moving and cathartic.
Purpose:According to the authors, the purpose is to guide individuals faced with serious illness and death through this very human experience.
Audience:The authors provide practical and reassuring information that we will all need at one time or another. As physicians, the authors bring the compassion expected from a physician as well as a wealth of knowledge and experience to this topic. The information is appropriate for family members, loved ones, patients, and caregivers. As our modern medical technology continues to change the way we live and die, our need grows even stronger for direction in managing difficult emotions and decisions at the end of life.
Features:All facets of end of life care from how to talk with your physician to the specifics of planning ahead for special circumstances are covered in this text. Truly, this is a compassionate yet direct explanation of what to expect and how to deal with changes during this time. The authors address the issue of addiction versus tolerance and addiction head on.
Assessment:This text is the most comprehensive to be found on this topic.Most of the literature available to date regarding end of life issues have been very clinical in their focus; however, this text is aptly named a handbook for all — clinicians and lay persons — can benefit from this book.
Library Journal
Designed for caregivers as well as patients, this book combines insights and inspiration with practical information and sensible suggestions for coping with critical, debilitating illnesses and the attendant problems such as accepting a new lifestyle, controlling pain, getting help, deciding on medical treatment, and enduring a loss. The death of a child, sudden death as the result of an accident, and similarly atypical instances are discussed briefly. Throughout, there are poignant excerpts from literature and case descriptions. Appendixes list organizations and sources of further information or assistance. Constance Joness R.I.P.: The Complete Book of Death and Dying (HarperCollins, 1997), which includes statistics, varying cultural practices, and more information resources, covers the topic more comprehensively. Nevertheless, this handbook, edited by the director of the Center To Improve Care for the Dying (http://www.gwu.edu/~cicd), exudes a compassion and warmth that will appeal to individual readers.Margaret Norden, Marymount Univ. Lib., Arlington, VA
Kirkus Reviews
A clear guide and a steadying hand for those with a life-threatening illness: medical, emotional, spiritual—and above all, practical—help for day-to day living. Lynn (director of the George Washington Medical School Center to Improve Care of the Dying) and Harrold (a fellow at the National Cancer Institute) have abundant experience and it shows here. They clarify and articulate the issues and concerns, physical and otherwise, that come with facing death. First and foremost, "If you have been pursuing all sorts of treatments and technology that are uncomfortable, how do you know when to let go of these and make different plans for how to spend the rest of your life?" From this starting point, the authors are able to help readers create their own approaches to a period of life when the duration and timing are unpredictable, but a singular opportunity exists for growth and finding peace. Lynn and Harrold go on to consider practicalities at length and in depth, from helping families make decisions as a unit to finding community support services, communicating with physicians, and controlling pain and other disturbing symptoms. When the end is in sight, the authors again first provide a focus: "How do you handle the urgent need to find meaning for yourself in what is soon to be a completed life?" Then, practical help abounds: among the issues, plans that must be made ahead, decisions to forgo medical treatment, and hastening death. Lynn and Harrold's discussion of assisted suicide is a model of sensitive, knowledgeable medical care. Coping with the events near death, enduring loss, and help with some specific situations (loss of children among them) receive the sameilluminating discussion. An up-to-date resource list rounds out this guide. An unflinching look at the painful tasks and opportunities for growth that accompany the end of life; coupled with invaluable help for completing them. .
Rating
5 Stars! from Doody
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