A Senior S Guide For Living Well And Dying Well

Finally, one comprehensive and authoritative source of practical information for seniors on living well as they face the end of life.

This “comforting…thoughtful” (The Washington Post) guide to maintaining a high quality of life—from resilient old age to the first inklings of a serious illness to the final breath—by the New York Times bestselling author of Knocking on Heaven’s Door is a “roadmap to the end that combines medical, practical, and spiritual guidance” (The Boston Globe). “A common sense path to define what a ‘good’ death looks like” (USA TODAY), The Art of Dying Well is about living as well as possible for as long as possible and adapting successfully to change. Packed with extraordinarily helpful insights and inspiring true stories, award-winning journalist Katy Butler shows how to thrive in later life (even when coping with a chronic medical condition), how to get the best from our health system, and how to make your own “good death” more likely. Butler explains how to successfully age in place, why to pick a younger doctor and how to have an honest conversation with them, when not to call 911, and how to make your death a sacred rite of passage rather than a medical event. This handbook of preparations—practical, communal, physical, and spiritual—will help you make the most of your remaining time, be it decades, years, or months. Based on Butler’s experience caring for aging parents, and hundreds of interviews with people who have successfully navigated our fragmented health system and helped their loved ones have good deaths, The Art of Dying Well also draws on the expertise of national leaders in family medicine, palliative care, geriatrics, oncology, and hospice. This “empowering guide clearly outlines the steps necessary to prepare for a beautiful death without fear” (Shelf Awareness).

A Columbia University physician comes across a popular medieval text on dying well written after the horror of the Black Plague and discovers ancient wisdom for rethinking death and gaining insight today on how we can learn the lost art of dying well in this wise, clear-eyed book that is as compelling and soulful as Being Mortal, When Breath Becomes Air, and Smoke Gets in Your Eyes. As a specialist in both medical ethics and the treatment of older patients, Dr. L. S. Dugdale knows a great deal about the end of life. Far too many of us die poorly, she argues. Our culture has overly medicalized death: dying is often institutional and sterile, prolonged by unnecessary resuscitations and other intrusive interventions. We are not going gently into that good night—our reliance on modern medicine can actually prolong suffering and strip us of our dignity. Yet our lives do not have to end this way. Centuries ago, in the wake of the Black Plague, a text was published offering advice to help the living prepare for a good death. Written during the late Middle Ages, ars moriendi—The Art of Dying—made clear that to die well, one first had to live well and described what practices best help us prepare. When Dugdale discovered this Medieval book, it was a revelation. Inspired by its holistic approach to the final stage we must all one day face, she draws from this forgotten work, combining its wisdom with the knowledge she has gleaned from her long medical career. The Lost Art of Dying is a twenty-first century ars moriendi, filled with much-needed insight and thoughtful guidance that will change our perceptions. By recovering our sense of finitude, confronting our fears, accepting how our bodies age, developing meaningful rituals, and involving our communities in end-of-life care, we can discover what it means to both live and die well. And like the original ars moriendi, The Lost Art of Dying includes nine black-and-white drawings from artist Michael W. Dugger. Dr. Dugdale offers a hopeful perspective on death and dying as she shows us how to adapt the wisdom from the past to our lives today. The Lost Art of Dying is a vital, affecting book that reconsiders death, death culture, and how we can transform how we live each day, including our last.

Redfern’s Nursing Older People provides accessible, evidence-based information for nurses, care assistants and other health professionals wanting to improve the quality of health and social care for older people. Republished for the first time since 2006, this fifth edition has been comprehensively revised and rewritten by a large team of expert contributors, while preserving the person-centred spirit of earlier editions. It applies best evidence in straightforward and practical ways to the demographic, physical, psychological, social and emotional challenges of ageing, with a focus on supporting independence and health maintenance. With new contributions covering emerging challenges such as understanding frailty and the use of digital technology, and the themes of diversity, service-user perspectives and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic woven throughout, Redfern’s Nursing Older People is essential reading to help nurses shape practice, improve outcomes and promote opportunities for ageing well. Written by a team of 68 specialists and experts drawn from the fields of nursing, social sciences, gerontology and healthcare practice Covers the latest evidence, policy and nursing practice Focus on nursing-led solutions for improving activities of daily living, independence and preventing common problems of ageing Accessible to all, with stories, case studies and lived experience to bring material to life Summaries and learning points support learning around complex problems Emphasis on countering ageism using images and wider literature where appropriate All chapters either extensively rewritten or completely new New chapters on frailty, the misuse of alcohol as a growing problem in old age, digital technology, and nursing older people with intellectual disabilities Core themes of gerontology embedded throughout, such as assessment and rehabilitation Impact of COVID-19 embedded throughout

Revised edition of the best-selling memoir that has been read by over a million people worldwide with translations in 29 languages. After too many years of unfulfilling work, Bronnie Ware began searching for a job with heart. Despite having no formal qualifications or previous experience in the field, she found herself working in palliative care. During the time she spent tending to those who were dying, Bronnie's life was transformed. Later, she wrote an Internet blog post, outlining the most common regrets that the people she had cared for had expressed. The post gained so much momentum that it was viewed by more than three million readers worldwide in its first year. At the request of many, Bronnie subsequently wrote a book, The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, to share her story. Bronnie has had a colourful and diverse life. By applying the lessons of those nearing their death to her own life, she developed an understanding that it is possible for everyone, if we make the right choices, to die with peace of mind. In this revised edition of the best-selling memoir that has been read by over a million people worldwide, with translations in 29 languages, Bronnie expresses how significant these regrets are and how we can positively address these issues while we still have the time. The Top Five Regrets of the Dying gives hope for a better world. It is a courageous, life-changing book that will leave you feeling more compassionate and inspired to live the life you are truly here to live.

The first clear and faithful guide to the timeless, practical teachings of the Stoic philosopher Seneca. Stoicism, the most influential philosophy of the Roman Empire, offers refreshingly modern ways to strengthen our inner character in the face of an unpredictable world. Widely recognized as the most talented and humane writer of the Stoic tradition, Seneca teaches us to live with freedom and purpose. His most enduring work, over a hundred “Letters from a Stoic” written to a close friend, explains how to handle adversity; overcome grief, anxiety, and anger; transform setbacks into opportunities for growth; and recognize the true nature of friendship. In Breakfast with Seneca, philosopher David Fideler mines Seneca’s classic works in a series of focused chapters, clearly explaining Seneca’s ideas without oversimplifying them. Best enjoyed as a daily ritual, like an energizing cup of coffee, Seneca’s wisdom provides us with a steady stream of time-tested advice about the human condition—which, as it turns out, hasn’t changed much over the past two thousand years.

What's life all about? When reading or watching the daily news, or going about our life, we often witness or experience suffering and injustices. Whether it's an Act of God, or some form of human error or cruelty, we have to wonder at why it happens. Why do good people, innocent babies and animals often seem to get hurt through no fault of their own? Why does there appear to be more rudeness and rage than ever before? Even our home, our planet Earth is being hurt possibly beyond any correction. And then, at almost the same time, we wonder if there's a life after we die, and if we will come back again. This book is about some of those questions and some thoughts and opinions which are not very mainstream or conventional, and what if anything, we can do about what's going on around us. This is about how to recognize and avoid some of the obstacles that stand in our way on the Path in our pursuit of Happiness. Is there life after life? When the body dies, it goes back to the earth, but we are not the body. See index under 'Life after Life.' What's the best way to heal a broken heart? Time heals broken hearts, and all other physical and emotional wounds. See index under 'Love.' What's better, conventional or alternative medicine? More about this under 'Self-healing.' Does prayer really work? Some scientific research is being done to find out if prayer really does help.