A Good Death
A Compassionate And Practical Guide To Prepare For The End Of Life
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2.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $17.99
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
When her own mother died, Margaret Rice realised how completely unprepared she and her family had been for the experience of companioning a loved one who is dying. So she decided to go in search of the information she couldn't find when she most needed it and write the book herself - a novice's guide to death.
We live in a period of intense death denial. But what if we were to smash that taboo and ask questions we want answered, like how do we know when someone is close to dying, and how do we best care for them? What actually happens to our body when we die? How do we work with medical experts? How do we deal with the non-medical issues that will come up, such as wills, finances and even social media passwords? Is morphine used to nudge death along or is this just a myth? Where do questions about euthanasia fit in with personal, lived experience?
Margaret Rice lifts the lid on the taboos that surround death, sharing practical information and compassionate advice from multiple sources to break down boundaries and offer better choices of care to suit individual needs. This is a book to help the dying and their carers feel less isolated, and help us all face death better.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Australian journalist Rice draws on her experience caring for her terminally ill mother and the accidental death of her brother in her strong debut, a useful guide to planning for death. She encourages readers to provide "quiet support" and comfort for their loved ones through the end of life, with or without home hospice care. She brushes aside taboos around talking about death with adequate but not gruesome detail about the process of dying, including spiritual experiences, visions, and incoherent mumblings, as well as physical changes to the body. She covers pain relief, addressing opioids and separating facts from rumors surrounding high morphine doses that can sometimes kill patients. In contrasting the approaches of acute hospital care and palliative care, Rice highlights the potential benefits of the latter which is more concerned with "soul pain" or "the fear and distress of facing the finality of death" for both those dying and those left living. She shows compassion with her realistic take on how grief often manifests and with practical tools for planning for one's own death. This accessible guide is a solid starting place for readers concerned with end of life options.
