Hospice and Palliative Resource Books

Hospice and Palliative Resource Books

Have you found yourself in need of hospice or grieving resources? Where to go and where to find advice? Surely you face numerous questions about the hospice journey—we can’t gage which questions nor how many we will face. However, we here at RCHC have provided a resource to help you on your quest for answers.

Below you will find several books and publications that the RCHC Staff members often look to and recommend to our families and patients . Topics include grief, caregiving, life after loss, and many more life lessons that will aide in the journey of hospice.

• Life in a Hospice by Ann Richardson
  Dying, it’s an uncomfortable topic. None of us likes to think about what our last days will be like. But if we do think about them at all, we want them to be full of peace and tranquillity, with the chance to say proper goodbyes to those we love. Life in a Hospice takes you behind the scenes in end-of-life care, where you will see the enormous efforts of nurses, doctors, chaplains and others - even a thoughtful cook - to provide the calm that we all hope for.

• Seven Keys to a Peaceful Passing: A Hospice Nurse's Step-by-Step Guide to Hospice by Derek J. Flores, RN
  If you or a loved one are facing an ‘End of Life’ experience, Seven Keys to a Peaceful Passing provides an informative and warm-hearted view on how to make the hospice system function best for patients and families. This easy-to-read roadmap guides you through important decisions that will help ensure a “Peaceful Passing” for your loved one.

• Final Gifts by Maggie Callanan and Patricia Kelley
  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.

• The Wheel of Life by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, MD
  Now, at age seventy-one facing her own death, this world-renowned healer tells the story of her extraordinary life. Having taught the world how to die well, she now offers a lesson on how to live well. Her story is an adventure of the heart —powerful, controversial, inspirational—a fitting legacy of a powerful life.

• Good Grief by Granger E. Westberg
  Good Grief identifies ten stages of grief--shock, emotion, depression, physical distress, panic, guilt, anger, resistance, hope, and acceptance--but, recognizing that grief is complex and deeply personal, defines no "right" way to grieve.

• It’s OK That You’re Not OK by Megan Devine
  When a painful loss or life-shattering event upends your world, here is the first thing to know: there is nothing wrong with grief. "Grief is simply love in its most wild and painful form," says Megan Devine. "It is a natural and sane response to loss."

• Life after the Diagnosis by Steven Z. Pantilat, MD
  In Life After the Diagnosis, Dr. Steven Z. Pantilat, a renowned international expert in palliative care demystifies the medical system for patients and their families. He makes sense of what doctors say, what they actually mean, and how to get the best information to help make the best medical decisions. Dr. Pantilat covers everything from the first steps after the diagnosis and finding the right caregiving and support, to planning your future so your loved ones don't have to.

• Loss of a Parent by Theresa Jackson, MSc
  With a career in medical communications and a Master's degree in clinical research, Theresa Jackson has combined the most effective resources, healing practices for grief and expert guidance on bereavement. Sharing hers and others’ personal journeys of coming to terms with the loss of a parent, she hopes to help more bereaved adult children on their healing journeys.

• Progressing Through Grief by Stephanie Jose, LMHC, LCAT
  "From the clinical perspective of a licensed mental health counselor...some of the questions we are often asked include 'Is this normal?' or 'Am I going crazy?' Progressing Through Grief answers these universal questions and others, and illustrates how personal and unique each person's experience is with loss."

• You Can’t Do It Alone by Maria Quiban Whitesell
  In this supportive guide, a widow and a mental health expert provide guidance and thoughtful advice for anyone dealing with traumatic loss.

• Please be Patient I’m Grieving by Gary Rose
  Do you know someone who’s grieving and wish you could help? Are you the one grieving and wonder if what you’re going through is normal? Do you wish those around you understood you better? This book has answers. This practical and easy-to-read book provides the answers you need to make a difference - in your own life and in the lives of others.

• Healing After the Loss of Your Mother by Elaine Mallon
  Like a compassionate friend, author Elaine Mallon captures the raw, unique pain of losing your mother with empathy, honesty, and eloquence. She tenderly walks the reader through each step of the grieving process, offering straightforward answers to many common questions and addressing fears faced by those grieving, as well.

• Farewell: Vital End-of-Life Questions with Candid Answers from a Leading Palliative and Hospice Physician  by Edward T. Cregan, MD
  Dr. Edward Creagan has dedicated his life to death. And now this esteemed medical doctor examines death, not only from a medical standpoint, but from an acutely emotional perspective as events beyond our control unfold.