Americans are enjoying the longest life expectancy in United States history, but what does this mean for the over seventy million aging baby boomers? It is expected the majority of the aging population will have two or more chronic health illnesses that will require frequent interactions with the healthcare system and will ultimately contribute to the decline in health realized over the years of ones life. How do we prepare for when the natural aging process, coupled with the effects of multiple chronic health illnesses, takes its final toll and we are faced with our own mortality? How do we begin to make end-of-life decisions either for ourselves or for someone we love? In todays complex healthcare environment with advanced technology and treatment options, A Good Death: A Practical Guide to Maintaining Control of your End-of-Life Journey is written to make the eventuality of death and dying a topic of family conversation. It is written to help the reader consider what type of care he or she would want at the end-of-life as well as encourage the reader to take the necessary steps to ensuring he receives that care. It is an invaluable tool in breaking the barrier of silence that surrounds death and dying.

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).

From Ira Byock, prominent palliative care physician and expert in end of life decisions, a lesson in Dying Well. Nobody should have to die in pain. Nobody should have to die alone. This is Ira Byock's dream, and he is dedicating his life to making it come true. Dying Well brings us to the homes and bedsides of families with whom Dr. Byock has worked, telling stories of love and reconciliation in the face of tragedy, pain, medical drama, and conflict. Through the true stories of patients, he shows us that a lot of important emotional work can be accomplished in the final months, weeks, and even days of life. It is a companion for families, showing them how to deal with doctors, how to talk to loved ones—and how to make the end of life as meaningful and enriching as the beginning. Ira Byock is also the author of The Best Care Possible: A Physician's Quest to Transform Care Through the End of Life.

The authoritative, informative, and reassuring guide on end-of-life care for our aging population. Most people say they would like to die quietly at home. But overly aggressive medical advice, coupled with an unrealistic sense of invincibility or overconfidence in our health-care system, results in the majority of elderly patients misguidedly dying in institutions. Many undergo painful procedures instead of having the better and more peaceful death they deserve. At Peace outlines specific active and passive steps that older patients and their health-care proxies can take to ensure loved ones live their last days comfortably at home and/or in hospice when further aggressive care is inappropriate. Through Dr. Samuel Harrington's own experience with the aging and deaths of his parents and of working with patients, he describes the terminal patterns of the six most common chronic diseases; how to recognize a terminal diagnosis even when the doctor is not clear about it; how to have the hard conversation about end-of-life wishes; how to minimize painful treatments; when to seek hospice care; and how to deal with dementia and other special issues. Informed by more than thirty years of clinical practice, Dr. Harrington came to understand that the American health-care system wasn't designed to treat the aging population with care and compassion. His work as a hospice trustee and later as a hospital trustee drove his passion for helping patients make appropriate end-of-life decisions.

Americans are enjoying the longest life expectancy in United States history, but what does this mean for the over seventy million aging baby boomers? It is expected the majority of the aging population will have two or more chronic health illnesses that will require frequent interactions with the healthcare system and will ultimately contribute to the decline in health realized over the years of one's life. How do we prepare for when the natural aging process, coupled with the effects of multiple chronic health illnesses, takes its final toll and we are faced with our own mortality? How do we begin to make end-of-life decisions either for ourselves or for someone we love? In today's complex healthcare environment with advanced technology and treatment options, A Good Death: A Practical Guide to Maintaining Control of your End-of-Life Journey is written to make the eventuality of death and dying a topic of family conversation. It is written to help the reader consider what type of care he or she would want at the end-of-life as well as encourage the reader to take the necessary steps to ensuring he receives that care. It is an invaluable tool in breaking the barrier of silence that surrounds death and dying.

With more people living longer lives, there is increased importance in the health care industry on improving services for the elderly. This comprehensive book gives an expert overview of the topics and challenges, along with imperative ethical and legal frameworks. The book also details existing programs and benefits in relation to a realistic portrayal of population needs. Other important issues are covered such as long-term palliative care and hospice, other vulnerable populations, elder abuse, public-private collaboration, evidence-based policy-making, and much more.

"A blend of memoir and investigation of the choices we face when our terror of death collides with the technological imperatives of modern medicine"--