Dying Well With Hospice: A Compassionate Guide to End of Life Care

Dying well, comfortably and peacefully, is one of the most important, most desired of personal choices. At the same time it is one of the most misunderstood topics. Few of us really want to talk about death, yet each of us will be facing it at some point in our lives. What’s more, many of us are or will be a caregiver for another during this challenging time in one’s life.

Dying Well with Hospice shines light on this difficult subject by:

• Providing options for making end of life peaceful, dignified, and to lessen suffering

• Demystifying the dying processed - understand how the natural process of death unfolds and what actually happens

• Showing how Hospice provides extraordinary support and resources for palliative care

• Demonstrating how to use advance planning to carry out your wishes and avoid making difficult decisions during what can be an overwhelming time

• Offering suggestions for beginning this conversation with loved ones and family members

Co-authored by a hospice professional and the spouse of a hospice patient, Dying Well with Hospice addresses the fears we have about death, discusses the many options available for making this a productive and loving time of transition. It also describes how to begin this dialogue for yourself and others.

Additionally, Dying Well with Hospice dispels the myth that terminal patients who choose to end treatment have “given up”. Instead, it shows how end of life can be embraced fully when the distractions of treatment are removed at the choice of the patient, allowing them to decide what they want to do with their remaining time.

Simply put, Dying Well with Hospice shows you how to reduce suffering, provides comforting advice during this critical time in one’s life cycle, and offers numerous options for personal growth, freedom, and peace of mind.

Jo Gustely has been a hospice nurse since 2005, committed to providing compassionate care and problem-solving to alleviate difficult symptoms for hospice clients. She has witnessed many awe-inspiring moments of psycho-spiritual renewal for clients nearing the end of life and has been present for profound instances of family affection, love, and support of courageous hospice clients. For more than twenty-five years Paula Wrenn has worked as a freelance writer for newspapers and magazines. Older adults, caregiving, aging well, and hospice are among the many topics she covered based on earlier experiences as an elder-care business owner and a long-standing volunteer for local organizations serving seniors and individual senior adults. Paula has assisted several members of her family through the transition from life to peaceful death. She believes those who go before us provide valuable insights and guidance about living and dying.