Dying: A Guide for Helping and Coping - Hardcover

Shepard, Martin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1579620698 ISBN 13: 9781579620691

Publisher: Permanent Pr Pub Co, 2000

Synopsis

Meditations, quotes, and interviews with terminally-ill patients and their loved ones address how individuals react to death.

About this title

About the Author

Dr. Martin Shepard received his M.D. from the New York University College of Medicine. He has been chief psychiatric resident at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York; consulting psychiatrist to the New York State Family Court, the New York City Board of Education and the New York City Department of Corrections. He is the author of several books including Fritz, a biography of Fritz Perls.

Reviews

Anyone facing a terminal prognosisAas helper, friend, relative, patient or health-care professionalA will find useful lessons in psychiatrist Shepard's look at how to deal well with impending death. Patients want to know how others have felt; family members want to know what to do. Some health-care professionals could use advice on what to disclose, and how, and to whom, and when. Most of the volume alternates straightforward adviceAcouched so as to reach a broad audienceAwith brief interviews with patients or their intimates. A law student now recovering from a malignant melanoma recollects his diagnosis and surgery. A 65-year-old contractor with myeloma illustrates how "one can... know the truth and still be optimistic." "Karen," a nurse, describes how she has coped with Hodgkin's diseaseAand how her husband seems to have practiced denial. And a cheery middle-aged nun explains, in fairly ecumenical terms, how she takes care of herself and keeps her outlook bright. Shepard (Fritz) includes an invaluable, if brief, section on the legal, practical and financial aspects of dying and being a survivorAwills, insurance, pensions, planning a funeral. Hospice care deserves and gets its own chapter; so does bereavementA"Deborah" describes the aftermath of her father's suicide; "David" describes his life as a widowed single parent. Boxed quotes and last words from famous and semifamous artists, wits and thinkers (Shakespeare, Browning, F.H. Bradley) adorn every chapterAleading up to a concluding section of meditations penned by Shepard himself: e.g., "None of us will ever get out of this world alive." Several chapters of this admirable book feature line drawings by Shepard's father, who died in 1972, soon after completing them. Large print edition rights sold to Thorndike. (July) FYI: Shepard is the cofounder and copublisher of the Permanent Press.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Shepard, a psychiatrist, bases this guide on the experiences of his patients and his father. He states the theme early: "Most of us start off at a disadvantage because we regard death as a calamity." Honesty, open communication, and freed emotions, however, can be the foundation of a comfortable and comforting death. Shepard interviews patients and family members alike to elucidate how anxieties, blockages, and dislikes are brought out and either dispersed or accepted. Acknowledging that no one is perfect, Shepard shows that imperfections can be dealt with successfully in most cases. Good relationships are essential. The patient must trust that the physician will answer questions clearly and without sugarcoating. Family members must make the best of the time remaining to the patient. Finally, the dying person must be responsible for attaining personal peace of mind. Shepard also gives practical advice on wills, cremation, and funeral homes. The accompanying line drawings of the sick and dying, done by Shepard's father during his final illness, fit the book perfectly. William Beatty
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Permanent Pr Pub Co
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1579620698
• ISBN 13: 9781579620691
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208