Hospice care is available to patients and families dealing with terminal illness. People often do not avail themselves of hospice care because they don't understand what it entails. Many wait until their last few days to request this extraordinary comfort care instead of using the full six months available to them through Medicare and other insurance options. Demystifying Hospice describes through stories good news about end-of-life issues. Written from the perspective of a licensed social worker with experience in public and private hospitals, hospice, and the American Cancer Society, these first-hand accounts of patients, family members, hospice workers and others will lift spirits, touch hearts, and illustrate the advantages of hospice care. These are real-life examples of personalized comfort care, offered by an interdisciplinary team, where ever the patient lives. Each story addresses some aspect of helping families through the caregiving and grieving process, which are part-and-parcel of a serious illness, and offers comfort and understanding to readers who may be going through similar experiences. This book describes hope, healing, and support through difficult times.

Jared Kindred left his home and family at the age of eighteen, choosing a life of riding train cars and making friends on the street. He was an addict for most of his short life, drinking far too much and lying about it; he was ultimately killed by an overdose. Yet he inspired the deepest love of Dave Kindred's life. Leave Out the Tragic Parts is not merely a reflection on love and addiction and loss. It is a hard-won, and remarkably fair-minded, account of the life Jared chose for himself and the colorful people around him--people with names like Puzzles, Stray, and Booze Cop; people with stories to tell. Kindred asks painful but important questions about the lies we tell to get along, and what binds families together or allows them to fracture. Jared's story ended in tragedy, but the act of telling it is an act of healing and redemption. This is an important book on how to love your family, from a great writer who has lived its lessons.

'If Dolly Alderton, Glennon Doyle and Elizabeth Day had a love child, this is the writer they'd produce.' Laura Jane Williams, author and journalist. Stylist's Must Read Book for 2022 Evening Standard's Faces to Watch in 2022 Shame is a monster that grows inside us. We all have the monster, it's what we decide to do with it that determines how we live our lives. This is my story... One day in the summer of 2008, I was sat on a train travelling back to London from a weekend of partying with friends when I received a phone call that suddenly changed everything. I was told my boyfriend Richard was in hospital. He died seven days later. I spent most of my twenties pretending this never happened. It has taken me a decade to be able to tell this story, just as it has taken me years to understand that there is no right way to grieve and no right way to live. In our twenties, we are thrown into the adult world without a guidebook. It's a decade that should be about adventure and discovery, so why does it feel catastrophic when we fail? How are we expected to have mastered our lives in such a short amount of time? Saying my shame out loud has made me feel more connected to people in my life. I hope that my story will make you feel less alone, too. It is only by sharing our stories that we can give a voice to the unspoken. Whatever pain you're holding on to, I'm writing this for you. 'I wish I'd had this book to guide me into adulthood.' Sathnam Sanghera, bestselling author of Empireland and The Boy with the Topknot 'Will go a long way to helping those struggling with the stigma and shame that, sadly, persistently surrounds mental health.' Vicky Spratt, Refinery29

At Close of Day is the author's thoughts and meditations about old-age, aging and the end of a life, together with memories of a general nature to give a stirring depiction of the author’s life of almost eighty years. The series of autobiographical books that started with ’n Duitser aan die Kaap, Merksteen and Die laaste Afrikaanse boek is concluded with this work.

It is a highly personal book about old-age, the process of writing and self-determination with commentary about aging and being old in a modern society, and was updated for the last time on 26 April 2017, a few days before his death. He gives practical hints and information about the possible and probable end of his life. The element of farewell and acceptance are obvious throughout the text. He realizes that old age becomes the main theme of his thoughts and his daily life.

The references and quotations are poignant and speak of someone who made his reading world his living word. In the end he explains his liberating decision about his planned suicide.

Meant to comfort and give direction to bereaved parents, "Beyond Tears" is written by nine mothers who have each lost a child. This revised edition includes a new chapter written from the perspective of surviving siblings.The death of a child is that unimaginable loss no parent ever expects to face. In "Beyond Tears," nine mothers share their individual stories of how to survive in the darkest hour. They candidly share with other bereaved parents what to expect in the first year and long beyond:
*Harmonious relationships can become strained
*There is a new definition of what one considers "normal"
*The question "how many children do you have?" can be devastating
*Mothers and fathers mourn and cope differently*Surviving siblings grieve and suffer as well*There simply is no answer to the question "why?"
This sharing in itself is a catharsis and because each of these mothers lost her child at least seven years ago, she is in a unique position to provide perspective on what newly bereaved parents can expect to feel. The mothers of "Beyond Tears" offer reassurance that the clouds of grief do lessen with time and that grieving parents will find a way to live, and even laugh again.

Losing a partner at a young age is a devastating experience. I know. I ve been there.' Janine shares the agonizing emotions, and the inner journey God took her on, after her biggest nightmare became reality literally overnight. She looks at the traps and pitfalls to which she was particularly prone, along with the overwhelming sense of loneliness she felt. And she shares the long and gruelling path towards recovering her sense of self and forging a new identity. 'God led me to set new priorities for myself,' she says, 'as I sought to move into the future with him, and enabled me to deal with the baggage of negative beliefs.' Finally, Janine places her grief in the context of a transition in order to understand her 'voyage of hope', ending with gratitude to God for all she has received from his hands.

After the death of her father, Sakellaraki's photography emerged as a passageway to navigate her personal grief. The project evolved to explore collective mourning in Greek society, ancestral rituals, private trauma and the passage of time-inspired by the last female communities of mourners in the Mani peninsula of Greece. 'In the wake of witnessing loss globally within our cultures and civilisations, I want to stimulate the viewer to rethink mortality through this imagined path of departure onto a new landscape. ..The Truth is in the Soil, reflects on how my personal story has transformed into a collective narrative of loss aiming at contributing to the collection of tales of human struggle for meaning. To me, these images work as vehicles for mourning perished ideals of vitality, prosperity and belonging, attempting to tell something further than their subjects by creating a space where death can exist.'

'I think the world should read it' LISA TADDEO, AUTHOR OF THREE WOMEN

A Guardian Book of the Year

After the unexpected death of her partner, Carolina Setterwall found herself bereft and rudderless at thirty-six, faced with the seemingly impossible task of raising her son alone.

In this remarkable Swedish memoir about grief and guilt, memory and intimacy, she explores the nature of bereavement itself - the difficulty of learning to live with the ones we love, and the trials of living without them.

'The most compelling book I've read in years' The Times

'It's impossible not to draw comparisons with Karl Ove Knausgaard. I absolutely loved it' Evening Standard

'Every spare, controlled sentence has the ring of truth. Gripping' Daily Mail

'Clever, compelling, canine and utterly mesmerising' - Helen Lederer Stupendo the dog has died. But that's just the beginning of his story. To love and protect. The code of the good dog is clear. When single mother Tuesday took on mongrel pup Stupendo, she made a friend for life. Through the best and the worst of times, Stupendo has been there for her. Ever faithful, ever loyal, ever true. Nothing could break their bond. Until last week. Stupendo doesn't know why Tuesday is suddenly ignoring him or why his doggy antics no longer seem to soothe Baby William. It takes his worst enemy - the cat next door - to break the news that Stupendo has become a ghost. Somehow left behind on Earth, Stupendo knows he has unfinished business. Enlisting the help of the community of animals in the neighbourhood, Stupendo must get to the bottom of the very human sadness that hangs over his old home and keeps him from saying goodbye to Tuesday. Praise for SAYING GOODBYE TO TUESDAY: 'An emotional, lovely read, just perfect for animal lovers. It was a joy to read, although have tissues handy' - Rachel Wells, bestselling author of Alfie the Doorstep Cat 'Pawfection. It's emotional and joyful and utterly compelling' - Alex Brown 'A gorgeous, ingenious story' - Amanda Brookfield 'This isn't just a story about a dog, it's a story about the very meaning of life, told from a unique and bold perspective. Filled with joyful bittersweetness and clear-eyed wisdom it made me both laugh and cry and its message of hope will stay with me for a long time to come' - Alexandra Potter

If you are the girl, the woman who feels like she is never enough, that she will never be as strong, as good, as capable, I am here to tell you that you are enough. I am here to tell you that while it shouldn’t have been your burden, you can write a different story.

Stronger will change what you think you know about strength and, most importantly, empower you to go on your own journey to discover what strength looks like for you.

Now a competitive amateur powerlifter who can lift over twice her own bodyweight, Poorna Bell is perfectly placed to start a crucial conversation about women’s strength and fitness, one that has nothing to do with weight loss. In Stronger she challenges the notions taught to us as girls, and examines how all of us can tap into our reservoir of inner strength to make us our strongest selves mentally and physically. Describing taking up weightlifting after the death of her husband, she shows how discovering her own strength helped her to find the confidence that physical pursuits can amplify – the confidence that has been helping men to succeed for centuries – and that women can find too.

In these pages, Poorna tells not only her own story but those of a range of women, investigating intersections of race, age and social background. Part memoir, part manifesto, Stronger explodes old-fashioned notions and long-held beliefs about getting strong and explores the relationship between mental and physical strength.

Whether you’re into weightlifting, running, swimming, yoga or don’t consider yourself to be sporty at all, Poorna shows how finding strength can work for you, regardless of age, ability or background.

A celebration of a life, a story of a death, but most importantly an exploration of grief and loss relevant to all those in a position to make that experience more bearable. This book is essential reading for anyone working or preparing to work with young adults and others facing terminal illness, and their families. It is written by a bereaved mother of a 25 year-old son treated unsuccessfully for cancer. Heartbreakingly honest, Nina draws on relevant theory, research and narrative texts as well as personal reflections. She considers what might have made the hideous journey through treatment, dying and bereavement easier to bear. This is a moving and memorable story for all of us, but there are also learning points throughout for medics and medical policy makers specifically and the health and social care professions more generally. Students and experienced nurses, doctors, counsellors, clerics and others will benefit from deepening their understanding in order to work more effectively with people facing the unthinkable.

Gail Muller was told she'd be in a wheelchair by the age of forty. At forty-one she set out to hike one of the world's toughest treks, The Appalachian Trail - a 2,200-mile journey that would help her reclaim her life and heal her mind and body. An inspiring, moving and uplifting memoir for fans of Cheryl Strayed's Wild and Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love. As Gail took her first steps through the wilderness of the USA, she had no idea what lay ahead of her, but she knew she felt burnout from city life, lost and broken - ready to heal a mind and body that she had battled with for so long. From the resilience-building mountain climbs, painful injuries and harsh reality of braving the raw elements, to the unexpected friendships forged with other hikers and the kindness of strangers offering food and shelter - with every step, Gail started to let go of a past dominated by chronic pain and reconnected with herself in a way she'd never been able to before. A love letter to the healing power of the wild outdoors and an incredible testament to the strength of the human spirit, Gail's story is for anyone who has ever felt stuck in a rut, lost or scared. She shows us that even in our darkest times, it's possible to find our inner grit, face our fears and feel hopeful. Read what everyone is saying about Unlost: 'Amazing!... OMG! I really loved your book!... I'm not a crier, but your last chapter had me almost in tears. So (wonderfully) emotional.' NetGalley reviewer, 5 stars 'Had me hooked from the beginning...This book is for so many people...it's fun and interesting and the various trail families and characters are terrific... a gem of a book.' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars 'I found myself holding my breath... I felt like I was right there with her.' NetGalley reviewer, 5 stars 'Inspirational... made me snort or chuckle - or suck in my breath. I read the book in more or less a day - I just had to consume it... a joy to read.' NetGalley reviewer, 5 stars 'Gail writes with humour, heart and passion.' Giovanna Fletcher, Sunday Times #1 bestselling author 'I loved this book so much. I was so invested from the very start... Was sad for this one to end! Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars 'Loved this open and honest book! It was so raw and real you feel like you get to know the author like a friend. I loved hearing about her adventures and life.' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars 'Inspiring... illustrates the power of the great outdoors and the positive effects it can have on body and mind.' Jordan Wylie, Adventurer and Bestselling Author

"Where Did You Go? offers deep comfort to anyone who has lost a loved one and hopes to explore what frontier science is now demonstrating: while a heart may stop beating, consciousness never dies." -Lynne McTaggart, bestselling author of The Field From Christina Rasmussen, the much beloved and acclaimed author of Second Firsts, comes a groundbreaking exploration of the afterlife that combines spirituality with cutting edge science-and reveals we all have the power to connect with our loved ones on the other side. "Where did you go?" This was the first question Christina Rasmussen asked after the death of her husband. A young widow with two daughters, Rasmussen would go on to become an esteemed grief educator who helped countless others rebuild their lives after loss. Yet, even as she learned to thrive again, that first heartbreaking question persisted. Even as she and her clients forged new paths and discovered new joy, the same questions remained: Are we capable of connecting to those who have passed on? What really happens after we die? As a professional grounded in science, Christina was a skeptic who shied away from the conventional mystical, supernatural, and religious descriptions of the afterlife-so she turned to what seemed "provable" to unravel the mystery of life beyond life: physics. What she found was beyond anything she could have expected: not only is there life after death, but we all have the ability to connect with loved ones who have passed on. Sharing an inspiring message of hope, optimism, and love, Where Did You Go? is a transporting step-by-step guide to journeying to the other side, from one of our most trusted voices on life after loss. Bridging the gap between the metaphysical and the measurable, it will change the way we grieve, the way we live and how we define our potential-in this life and the hereafter.

Process your grief, protect your mental health, and find moments of happiness with these 100 self-care activities specifically designed for difficult and distressing situations. When faced with loss or trauma, the grief can oftentimes feel overwhelming. It can feel difficult, if not impossible, to focus your attention elsewhere. And yet, during hard times is the perfect time to look inwards for support and practice self-care. Tuning in to your personal needs and taking the time to create a thoughtful self-care practice can make all the difference in moving forward in a healthy way. In Self-Care for Grief, you'll find 100 self-care activities that are specifically designed to help you protect your mental health, even while grieving. You'll find useful activities like: -Cooking to honor your loss -Practicing saying "No" -Naming your emotions -And many more No matter what the circumstances are, Self-Care for Grief has the activities you need to de-stress, stay calm, and even find moments of joy in the most challenging of times.

’I can’t recall us ever talking about anything other than eels and how to best catch them, down there by the stream. Actually, I can’t remember us speaking at all. Maybe because we never did.’

The European eel, Anguilla anguilla, is one of the strangest creatures nature ever created. Remarkably little is known about the eel, even today. What we do know is that it’s born as a tiny willow-leaf shaped larva in the Sargasso Sea, travels on the ocean currents toward the coasts of Europe – a journey of about four thousand miles that takes at least two years. Upon arrival, it transforms itself into a glass eel and then into a yellow eel before it wanders up into fresh water. It lives a solitary life, hiding from both light and science, for ten, twenty, fifty years, before migrating back to the sea in the autumn, morphing into a silver eel and swimming all the way back to the Sargasso Sea, where it breeds and dies.

And yet . . . There is still so much we don’t know about eels. No human has ever seen eels reproduce; no one can give a complete account of the eel’s metamorphoses or say why they are born and die in the Sargasso Sea; no human has even seen a mature eel in the Sargasso Sea. Ever. And now the eel is disappearing, and we don’t know exactly why.

What we do know is that eels and their mysterious lives captivate us.

This is the basis for The Gospel of the Eels, Patrik Svensson’s quite unique natural science memoir; his ongoing fascination with this secretive fish, but also the equally perplexing and often murky relationship he shared with his father, whose only passion in life was fishing for this obscure creature.

Through the exploration of eels in literature (Günter Grass and Graham Swift feature, amongst others) and the history of science (we learn about Aristotle’s and Sigmund Freud’s complicated relationships with eels) as well as modern marine biology (Rachel Carson and others) we get to know this peculiar animal. In this exploration, we also learn about the human condition, life and death, through natural science and nature writing at its very best.

As Patrik Svensson concludes: 'by writing about eels, I have in some ways found my way home again.'

You can t attend your own funeral. But you can have a blast planning it! Death is scary but planning your funeral doesn't have to be! It's Your Funeral! will help demystify death, decrease your anxiety, and put the fun back in funeral, whether that means a drunken bacchanal or a somber reflection on just how great you were. Every stage of the legacy planning process is considered, from a burial outfit to a funeral theme. Practical and cheeky questions alike are answered, including What is the most eco-friendly burial method? Can I write my own obituary? Can my body be shot into space after I die? How can I manage my digital legacy? Offering a plethora of curious facts, strange stories, and inspiration to help you think outside the coffin, It s Your Funeral! includes worksheets that will ensure your wishes are recorded for posterity. Planning for death should be the time of your life, so let s get started!

Let's Be Real exposes the depths of honest grief as a 22-year-old girl says goodbye to her father after holding his hand as her family sang him happy birthday. At only 22, Emily Katherine Dalton never imagined her story would take such a turn, losing every sense of family and home she had ever known. The secure faith she had formed felt shattered. In Let's Be Real, she shares her honest, gritty journey of fighting to believe all she had ever known until her world turned upside down. Fighting to name the depths of new emotions and questions she had never before held, wrestling to somehow let the people around her into the chaos, and relentlessly trying to run toward a God she had to learn to relate to all over again after facing the greatest trauma she had ever known. Let's Be Real offers readers insight into processing emotional trauma and what authentic friendship really looks like as Emily Katherine relates and reframes stories that taught her the greatest lessons about the faith that follows trauma, grief, and loss-a faith that has to be real.

Most cries of pain from teenagers are silent, and too often we only discover the true depth of their pain after suicide or other self-destructive behavior. In Stepping Up, teens speak openly about their struggles with suicide, depression, sex, drug addiction, pregnancy, abuse, bullying, and self-destructive behavior through their personal letters to author Donalyn Powell, a long-time youth and suicide-prevention advocate. To each letter, Powell offers personal and practical hope: even in the darkest situations, the pain will not last, and we are never alone. God has a purpose for each of us that we alone can fulfill, and it is God's life in us that provides our reason for living, healing for our lives, and hope for the future.

Resetting shares the story of a personal grief journey and helps transform today's understanding of the human condition. Although grief and loss are universal human conditions around since the beginning of time, the idea of loss is still greatly feared, ignored, distained, undiscussed, and certainly not prepared for. It is no wonder people feel alone and isolated in their feelings and thoughts when loss comes to them. Longtime nurse, Susan Beth Hassmiller, who is no stranger to death, has experienced the journeys of suffering and death in her patients as well as her personal life in which she was completely blindsided by the physical, spiritual, and emotional toll. Resetting is written in a daily diary format in which Susan opens a very private window to the actual feelings and thoughts she experienced in the grief process. Resetting is raw and gripping as it illustrates a new level of understanding of the human condition. Susan helps those who have suffered loss gain a new perception and a greater sense of grief while learning lessons on how to help those suffering from grief-from words to say to tasks to take on.