At peace : choosing a good death after a long life

At peace Choosing a good death after a long life

Samuel Harrington

Book - 2018

Most people say they would like to die quietly at home, but overly aggressive medical advice, coupled with an unrealistic sense of invincibility, results in the majority of elderly patients misguidedly dying in institutions while undergoing painful procedures, instead of having the better and more peaceful death they desired. Harrington outlines specific active and passive steps that older patients and their health care proxies can take to insure loved ones pass their last days comfortably at home and/or in hospice, when further aggressive care is inappropriate.

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Subjects
Terminal care.
Terminally ill.
Geriatrics.
Published
New York : Grand Central Life & Style 2018.
Language
English
Main Author
Samuel Harrington (author)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
xix, 282 pages ; 22 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
9781478917410
  • Introduction
  • Part 1. Limits and Failures of American Medicine
  • Chapter 1. Good Death, Bad Death, Better Death?
  • Chapter 2. American Health Care: Failing the Elderly
  • Chapter 3. The Denial of Old Age: Immortal in America?
  • Chapter 4. The Median Is the Message
  • Part 2. Understanding Disease
  • Chapter 5. How Different Diseases Lead to Common Causes of Death
  • Chapter 6. Deathbed Scenarios: How Does the End Finally Arrive?
  • Chapter 7. Dad's Final Weeks
  • Chapter 8. How to Recognize a Terminal Diagnosis
  • Part 3. Practical Aspects of Planning for Death
  • Chapter 9. The Value of Your Prognosis
  • Chapter 10. The Hard Conversation
  • Chapter 11. Hospice Care
  • Chapter 12. Voluntary Refusal of Fluid and Food
  • Epilogue: Reflections and a Road Map
  • Abridged Chronology: Mom and Dad's Decline
  • Appendixes
  • Appendix I. Advance Directives
  • Appendix II. Dementia
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • Resource List
  • Index
  • About the Author
Review by Library Journal Review

Death comes to all people, whether they are happy or not, kind or mean, and whether they practice yoga or watch TV all day. So why does one pick up a book about how to die? The answers come from those who have participated in the deaths of others, by listening, affirming, and then helping those who remain. In At Peace, physician Harrington, who serves on the board of a nonprofit hospice in Washington, DC, describes the terminal patterns of the six most common diseases, then guides readers in end-of-life conversations and instructs them in how to minimize painful treatments. He speaks with experience and compassion as he discusses the biological and emotional factors of aging and outlines the practical aspects of planning for death. Chapters on dementia and advance directives conclude his work. In With the End in Mind, physician -Mannix, through her expertise in palliative care and cognitive behavior therapy, shares stories from a lifetime of caring for the dying. Using case histories, Mannix provides poignant insight into the way people live when they know they are dying, and what those around them may be thinking and wishing to say. The book ends with a template for writing a last letter to loved ones. VERDICT Where At Peace provides a framework for dying, With the End in Mind puts meat on the bones, with some overlapping of personal accounts and medical processes in each. Both are highly recommended. © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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