Final Gifts: Understanding the Special Awareness, Needs, and Communications of the Dying - Softcover

"These richly told stories enable us to respond to the dying in new and authentic ways." --Ira R. Byock, M.D., author of Dying Well: The Prospect for Growth at the End of Life

"Treasure-clear, authentic, responsible, and profoundly moving." --Sandol Stoddard, author of The Hospice Movement

"Beautifully written, illuminating and reassuring...Final Gifts is truly a gift to us all." --Judy Tatelbaum, author of The Courage to Grieve

In this moving and compassionate classic—now updated with new material from the authors—hospice nurses Maggie Callanan and Patricia Kelley share their intimate experiences with patients at the end of life, drawn from more than twenty years’ experience tending the terminally ill.

Through their stories we come to appreciate the near-miraculous ways in which the dying communicate their needs, reveal their feelings, and even choreograph their own final moments; we also discover the gifts—of wisdom, faith, and love—that the dying leave for the living to share.

Filled with practical advice on responding to the requests of the dying and helping them prepare emotionally and spiritually for death,Final Gifts shows how we can help the dying person live fully to the very end.