Last Rights is a compassionate, comprehensive, up-to-the-minute examination of the right-to-die movement in America and the medical, legal, ethical, and social issues surrounding euthanasia. The stories behind the headlines are revealed - both (in)famous and lesser known - through stirring personal testimonies. Airing the views of activists and opponents, Sue Woodman considers the complex questions that will continue to engage us for as long as we live and die. In the end, we are left with this question: Could the right to die be humankind's ultimate civil rights struggle?

A year-long journey by the renowned psychiatrist and his writer wife after her terminal diagnosis, as they reflect on how to love and live without regret. Internationally acclaimed psychiatrist and author Irvin Yalom devoted his career to counseling those suffering from anxiety and grief. But never had he faced the need to counsel himself until his wife, esteemed feminist author Marilyn Yalom, was diagnosed with cancer. In A Matter of Death and Life, Marilyn and Irv share how they took on profound new struggles: Marilyn to die a good death, Irv to live on without her. In alternating accounts of their last months together and Irv's first months alone, they offer us a rare window into facing mortality and coping with the loss of one's beloved. The Yaloms had numerous blessings-a loving family, a Palo Alto home under a magnificent valley oak, a large circle of friends, avid readers around the world, and a long, fulfilling marriage-but they faced death as we all do. With the wisdom of those who have thought deeply, and the familiar warmth of teenage sweethearts who've grown up together, they investigate universal questions of intimacy, love, and grief. Informed by two lifetimes of experience, A Matter of Death and Life is an openhearted offering to anyone seeking support, solace, and a meaningful life.

Kate Spencer lost her mom to cancer when she was 27. In The Dead Moms Club, she walks readers through her experience of stumbling through grief and loss, and helps them to get through it, too. This isn't a weepy, sentimental story, but rather a frank, up-front look at what it means to go through gruesome grief and come out on the other side. An empathetic read, The Dead Moms Club covers how losing her mother changed nearly everything in her life: both men and women readers who have lost parents or experienced grief of this magnitude will be comforted and consoled. Spencer even concludes each chapter with a cheeky but useful tip for readers (like the "It's None of Your Business Card" to copy and hand out to nosy strangers asking about your passed loved one).

The Labour of Loss explores how mothers, fathers, widows, relatives and friends dealt with their experiences of grief and loss during and after the First and Second World Wars. Based on an examination of private loss through letters and diaries, this study makes a significant contribution to understanding how people came to terms with the deaths of friends and family. Unlike other studies in this area, The Labour of Loss considers how mourning affected men and women in different ways, and analyzes the gendered dimensions of grief.

For all those people who say they aren't cat people, but deep down know they are. 'Possibly the next Marley & Me' Red 'A reminder of the gratitude humans owe to our companion animals' Daily Mail Helen Brown wasn't a cat person, but her nine-year-old son Sam was. So when Sam heard someone mention that her cat had just had a litter, he pleaded to go and see them. Helen was powerless to resist and the deal was done - to be delivered when the kitten was big enough to leave her mother. Tragically, just a week later, Sam was killed in a road accident. Not long after this, a little black kitten was delivered to the family's doorstep. Totally numbed by Sam's death, Helen had completely forgotten about the new arrival, which belonged in another universe when Sam was still alive. Helen was ready to send her back, but Sam's younger brother, Rob, identified with the kitten who'd also lost her brothers. Stroking her, it was the first time Helen had seen him smile since Sam's death. There was no choice, the kitten - dubbed Cleo - had to stay. Cleo's immense character slowly taught the family to laugh again, giving them hope of getting back to normal. Over the next 24 years she went on to become the high priestess of Helen's household - vetoing her new men, terrifying visiting dogs and playing an integral role in their lives to become both a guardian and beloved friend. Optioned for film.

Find your way out of the pain and darkness of grief. None of us escapes life without experiencing grief in one form or another. But the journey of grieving parents, specifically that of the grieving mother, is something no one can imagine ... unless they have lived it. Is there a way through? Is it possible to live vibrantly again, to find joy and purpose in life after your young adult child has passed on? YES! The journey to joy may surprise you. Grief Interrupted is a letter of love, hope, and healing from one mother in grief to another. Corey Stiles, who lost her 17-year-old daughter, has walked the path, and her words will inspire you to reclaim your joy. With Corey as your guide, start your journey to a new normal where you will create space for both sorrow and joy to reside within you without crippling you. On this courageous sojourn, you will rediscover the magic and wonder of life while still honoring your loved one who has transitioned to heaven. Grief Interrupted is like a personal healing retreat for grieving mothers-in book form. If you're ready to move out of the dark, painful sea of grief and into the warmth and light of joy, this is your starting point. While this is a journey only you can set out on, you are not alone. You have someone to guide you, to encourage you, and to walk alongside you. You can be happy again! Welcome to the journey!

Practical, emotional, and spiritual guidance
The time may come when you or a loved one has to face a life-threatening illness; when you realize that you or your loved one may be dying. It's never easy to think about the last years of life, but being prepared can help you have your hopes and wishes realized. By taking the time now to plan for the future, you can maintain control of your life even at the very end.
Staying in Charge is a supportive guide to opening up the lines of communication and making life more fulfilling from the first day of diagnosis of a serious illness. This reassuring handbook helps you to focus on important matters such as:
* Handling a living will or a do-not-resuscitate order
* Deciding upon medical power of attorney
* Gathering support from friends and family
* And, most significantly, learning to live in the midst of dying

Based on the wisdom of many experts and caregivers in the field, Staying in Charge offers everything you need to know to make the last years of life more fruitful, less isolating, and more comfortable and peaceful-whenever and wherever the journey occurs.
""Few of us think of our own death with an open heart or a clear mind. Kaplan and Lukas courageously and compassionately demystify this unknown part of life with practical and spiritual guidance. With Staying in Charge, the secret is out: You can plan for death and, in so doing, learn how to live more fully.""
-Beth Witrogen McLeod, author of Caregiving: The Spiritual Journey of Love, Loss, and Renewal
""Staying in Charge: Practical Plans for the End of Your Life means what it says. When it comes time to manage a serious illness, we all want to be in control. There isn't a person alive who shouldn't read and absorb the counsel of this valorous-and unexpectedly cheering-work.""
-Stefan Kanfer, former editor, Time magazine author of Ball of Fire and A Summer World

In 1994 William Ritter's adult son committed suicide, sending Ritter and his family on a journey no family wants to take. Part of Ritter's own process of healing the loss of his son was to preach about it occasionally from the pulpit. This book is a collection of the sermons he preached, the first one just three weeks after his son's death, and the final one nine years later. Through them, we get a glimpse of a father and a family struggling honestly with their pain and gradually-over the years-coming to grips with their loss. Take the Dimness of My Soul Away will be a welcome companion to anyone who has lost a loved one to suicide, as well as to pastors and counselors who work with those who are grieving. Ritter offers no easy solutions, no rosy pictures, and no silver linings, but speaks honestly instead about the difficult emotions and confusion of this kind of loss, and ultimately, about a sense of hopefulness for the survivors of suicide.

In this compassionate and moving guide to communicating with the terminally ill, Dr. Elisabeth Küebler-Ross, the world's foremost expert on death and dying, shares her tools for understanding how the dying convey their innermost knowledge and needs. Expanding on the workshops that have made her famous and loved around the world, she shows us the importance of meaningful dialogue in helping patients to die with peace and dignity.

When a family member or close friend dies, it can be difficult to know how best to help the children and teenagers involved. Someone Very Important Has Just Died is a practical book written for those caring for children and teenagers suffering a close bereavement. Intended for use immediately or soon after the death has occurred, this book gives practical and detailed guidance on what adults might say and do to help children.;This much-needed resource tackles the sensitive issues of what to tell children, how far to include them in the events immediately after the death, and how to tend to their physical and emotional needs. The material is suitable for anyone regardless of their background and beliefs, and is supplemented with information on where to go to obtain longer term bereavement support.;Someone Very Important Has Just Died is an ideal resource for professionals in all areas of work relating to bereavement. It is designed to be given to adults with children in their care at the time of a death.

Every once in a while a book comes along that can change your life–a book so special, it is destined not just to be read but to be cherished, to be passed from one reader to another as a precious gift. Filled with wisdom and grace, tears and laughter, Hannah’s Gift is one such book. Within these pages Maria Housden shares the transformative lessons in living she received from her three-year-old daughter Hannah, who brought courage, honesty, and joy to her struggle with cancer.

During the last year of her short life, Hannah was fearless in the way she faced death–and irrepressibly joyful in the way she approached living. The little girl who wore her favorite red Mary Janes into the operating room changed the life of everyone who came in contact with her. Now, in a book that preserves Hannah’s indomitable spirit, Maria Housden offers the gift of her daughter’s last year to all of us.

In a lyrically told narrative, both moving and unforgettable, Housden recounts Hannah’s battle with cancer in simple, straightforward language that transcends grief and fear to become a celebration. From Hannah’s story emerge five profound lessons–of truth, joy, faith, compassion, and wonder–that have the power to change our lives.

During her illness Hannah showed how we can truly live in the moment and break free from lives suffocated by too many unlived joys. Even more memorable is the message Hannah delivered after her death to those she loved–a message of hope for anyone faced with the deepest questions of life and death.

Hannah’s Gift nourishes the soul with an ageless wisdom all the more invaluable for having come from someone so young. A remarkable story, remarkably told, it will bring comfort to anyone touched by loss, and renewed faith in the
power of love.

Closing her eyes and extending her arms, Hannah began to dance. Oblivious to everything but the shoes on her feet, she skipped and clicked across the floor, twirling in circles, faster and faster. There was something about her pure joy and the defiant nobility of the red shoes that caught everyone’s attention....

The true measure of a life is not its length but the fullness with which it is lived


From the Hardcover edition.

Elegant prose ... sheds new light on the father-daughter dynamic
-Boston magazine
Praise for Fatherless WOMEN
""If it can be said about a book on loss, Fatherless Women is a pleasure to read. Clea Simon is a warm, honest, intelligent, and trustworthy guide, not only for grieving women but for the men who support them. Simon's insights about father-daughter relationships are profound.""
-Neil Chethik, author of FatherLoss
""Clea Simon deepens our understanding of the complicated emotions daughters feel about fathers, both during life and especially after death. This book will help heal rifts and set stuck energies free.""
-Beth Witrogen McLeod, author of Caregiving:
The Spiritual Journey of Love, Loss, and Renewal
""Unusually candid and often provocative . . . Simon's book is immensely thought-provoking about a topic that all of us will face.""
-Pauline Boss, Ph.D., author of Ambiguous Loss:
Learning to Live with Unresolved Grief
There is a special bond between a father and a daughter, and when that bond is broken by death, a woman's life can change in profound and unexpected ways. Clea Simon, critically acclaimed author of Mad House, explores this crucial meeting point of grief and growth by delving into her own experience and those of other women to paint an illuminating portrait of the father-daughter relationship and its lifelong ramifications. Filled with moving stories of real women, this poignant, comforting, and insightful book paves the way for all women to make peace with the past, with the adults they have become, and to courageously face the question: what happens next?

Losing our parents when we ourselves are adults is in the natural order of things, a rite of passage into true adulthood. But whether we lose them suddenly or after a prolonged illness, and whether we were close to or estranged from them, this passage proves inevitably more difficult than we thought it would be. A much-needed and knowledgeable discussion of this adult phenomenon, "The Orphaned Adult" validates the wide array of disorienting emotions that can accompany the death of our parents by sharing both the author's heart-felt experience of loss and the moving stories of countless adults who have shared their losses with him. From the recognition of our own mortality and sudden child-like sorrow to a sometimes-subtle change in identity or shift of roles in the surviving family, "The Orphaned Adult" guides readers through the storm of change this passage brings and anchors them with its compassionate and reassuring wisdom.

In her poignant memoir, Carolyn describes the heartbreak of losing a child, and how she and her family dealt with unimaginable loss and learned to live again. Married with two daughters, Ellie aged 14 and Rosie 11, Carolyn was teaching at Redroofs School for the Performing Arts when Rosie suddenly developed vasculitis, a rare auto immune disease. Rosie spent many months in hospital undergoing tests, scans and operations whilst her family were worried sick and traumatised by the lack of support for parents in their situation. Rosie's tragic death six months later compelled Carolyn to set-up Rosie's Rainbow Fund in her memory and to honour Rosie's wish to help other sick children. The charity has achieved major success bringing music therapy to thousands of sick children in hospital, care for parents with hospitalised children and ongoing support for bereaved parents. As a believer in spirituality, Carolyn felt that Rosie was sending messages and helping her through her grief. Predictions given to Carolyn previously that her destiny was to have another child, and with Rosie's blessing, Carolyn and her husband embarked upon a five-year programme of fertility treatment. Carolyn describes in intimate detail all the processes,procedures and disappointments she experienced. Finally, at 54 years of age and through IVF and a donor egg Carolyn gave birth to their son Dominic and a brother for Ellie. After a painful divorce Carolyn discovered a breast lump in 2016 and following a diagnosis of cancer had to undergo a mastectomy. She chronicles the gruelling regime of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the caring medical staff and inspiring patients that helped her through this frightening chapter. However,the rollercoaster of life and death hadn't finished with her yet..

"Elegant prose ... sheds new light on the father-daughter dynamic"
–Boston magazine

Praise for Fatherless WOMEN

"If it can be said about a book on loss, Fatherless Women is a pleasure to read. Clea Simon is a warm, honest, intelligent, and trustworthy guide, not only for grieving women but for the men who support them. Simon’s insights about father-daughter relationships are profound."
–Neil Chethik, author of FatherLoss

"Clea Simon deepens our understanding of the complicated emotions daughters feel about fathers, both during life and especially after death. This book will help heal rifts and set stuck energies free."
–Beth Witrogen McLeod, author of Caregiving:
The Spiritual Journey of Love, Loss, and Renewal

"Unusually candid and often provocative . . . Simon’s book is immensely thought-provoking about a topic that all of us will face."
–Pauline Boss, Ph.D., author of Ambiguous Loss:
Learning to Live with Unresolved Grief

There is a special bond between a father and a daughter, and when that bond is broken by death, a woman’s life can change in profound and unexpected ways. Clea Simon, critically acclaimed author of Mad House, explores this crucial meeting point of grief and growth by delving into her own experience and those of other women to paint an illuminating portrait of the father-daughter relationship and its lifelong ramifications. Filled with moving stories of real women, this poignant, comforting, and insightful book paves the way for all women to make peace with the past, with the adults they have become, and to courageously face the question: what happens next?

When a mother dies, those she leaves behind are filled with sorrow, but what is sometimes overlooked is remembering and celebrating her legacy. Remembrance of Mother is a moving and thoughtful collection of perspective on mothers and the vital influence they have on the past, present, and future of their children. In remembering there can be joy and peace.

A son or daughter of any age can miss a mother's presence, not just immediately following her death but at any time of sadness or celebration. A book of comfort and support, Remembrance of Mother is gentle reminder that although she is no longer here physically, she lives on in the heart.

Explaining how multitudes of North Americans are carrying the pain of all types of loss -- not just the deaths of loved ones but also the loss of a spouse through divorce, children who leave home, and the decline of health as they age or get sick -- this balanced resource empowers mourners and grief counsellors to turn grief into an experience to be learned from. Defining the varieties of heartache and its consequences, this effective guide explores how to inventory, understand, embrace, and reconcile one's accumulated sorrow through a five-phase "catch-up" mourning process. Readers will learn to use a spiritual and holistic approach to examine and integrate the ignored loss from their pasts, so that they can go on to live fuller, more balanced lives.

"Now there is a hand to hold... "

Each year about eight million Americans suffer the death of someone close to them. Now for thse who face the challenges of sudden death, there is a hand to hold, written by two women who have experienced sudden loss. This updated edition of the best-selling bereavement classic will touch, comfort, uplift and console. Authors Brook Noel and Pamela D. Blair, Ph.D. explore sudden death and offers a comforting hand to hold for those who are grieving the sudden death of a loved one.

Featured on ABC World News, Fox and Friends and many other shows, this book acts as a touchstone of sanity through difficult times. I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye covers such difficult topics as the first few weeks, suicide, death of a child, children and grief, funerals and rituals, physical effects, homicide and depression. New material covers the unique circumstances of loss, men and women's grieving styles, religion and faith, myths and misunderstandings, I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye reflects the shifting face of grief.
These pages have offered solace to over eighty thousand people, ranging from seniors to teenagers and from the newly bereaved to those who lost a loved one years ago. Individuals engulfed by the immediate aftermath will find a special chapter covering the first few weeks.

Tapping their personal histories and drawing on numerous interviews, authors Brook Noel and Pamela D. Blair, Ph.D, explore unexpected death and its role in the cycle of life. I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye provides survivors with a rock-steady anchor from which to weather the storm of pain and begin to rebuild their lives.

PRAISE FOR I WASN'T READY TO SAY GOODBYE

""I highly recommend this book, not only to the bereaved, but to friends and counselors as well.""
Helen Fitzgerald, author of The Grieving Child, The Mourning Handbook, and The Grieving Teen

""This book, by women who have done their homework on grief... can hold a hand and comfort a soul through grief 's wilderness. Oustanding references of where to see other help.""
George C. Kandle, Pastoral Psychologist

""Finally, you have found a friend who can not only explain what has just occurred, but can take you by the hand and lead you to a place of healing and personal growth. Whether you are dealing with the loss of a family member, a close personal associate or a friend, this guide can help you survive and cope, but even more importantly... heal.""
The Rebecca Review

""For those dealing with the loss of a loved one, or for those who want to help someone who is, this is a highly recommended read.""
Midwest Book Review

How do you 'prepare' for bereavement? Religious faith can help, as can ritualised codes of dress and behaviour that recognise different stages of mourning. But many of us feel singularly unprepared when we lose someone. No one 'theory' can sooth the bereaved, precisely because grief so strips us naked and profoundly wounds us. Nothing pre-cooked helps. No quick fix, no one-shot deal. In this inspirational book, Peter J Conradi draws on literature, history and philosophy to present a broad array of different voices and perspectives on grief. His carefully chosen stories, excerpts and poems offer wisdom and consolation, but they also make us think, break down taboos and sometimes even find humour and light amidst the painful, bewildering reality of death. Everyone's experience of grief is different, but reading of the myriad different ways in which others have approached it can, while not necessarily easing our grief, certainly help us feel less alone.