Inspiring teachings, personal stories, and meditations for those near death and their caregivers, by a respected Zen teacher who has worked with the dying for over 30 years. Everyone who lives must inevitably face death. Inspired by traditional Buddhist teachings and decades of work with the dying and their caregivers, this landmark work on death and dying by beloved Buddhist teacher Joan Halifax is a source of wisdom for all those who are charged with a dying person’s care, facing their own death, or wishing to explore and contemplate the transformative power of the dying process. Relevant and powerful for people of all backgrounds, her teachings affirm that all of us can open and contact our inner strength even in the face of death, and that we can help others who are suffering to do the same. Halifax observes that millions will have to deal with the loss of parents and loved ones and that we are largely unprepared emotionally for their deaths. She presents the notion that the process of dying is a rite of passage. Halifax offers stories from her personal experience as well as guided exercises and contemplations to help readers contemplate death without fear, develop a commitment to helping others, and transform suffering and resistance into courage. Topics and exercises include: Learning to see death as a rite of passage The guiding principles of bearing witness and how self-awareness can help us to relate more fully with others How to take care of ourselves when we’re taking care of others Contemplation on the universality of death How to transform pain and fear with lovingkindness And much more Coupled with a new foreword by Frank Ostaseski, a leader in the field of death and dying palliative care, the guidance and experiences represented in Being with Dying are invaluable in supporting and instilling peace as the journey of life unfolds and inevitably reaches not only an end, but also a new beginning.

"Ann Humphry's suicide in 1991 made headlines worldwide. One of the reasons her death was so compelling was her allegation, in her suicide note, that she was driven to kill herself by her husband, Derek Humphry, Co-founder of the Hemlock Society and author of the number-one best-seller Final Exit." "In Deadly Compassion Rita Marker relates the explosive details of this tragic death and the dark side of the euthanasia movement. Combining the shocking, true-life story of Ann's despair and suicide with compelling arguments against ever allowing the legalization of euthanasia, Rita Marker has written a book that is disturbing, moving, and thoroughly convincing." "Rita Marker tells Ann's account of her life with Derek Humphry: from their happy times together co-founding the Hemlock Society to his leaving her after she was diagnosed with cancer. Here is the story of Ann's terrible guilt after she and Derek helped her parents kill themselves - with Ann smothering her mother to death with a laundry bag when the pills didn't work - and her belief that Derek would allow her no grief and no remorse. And here too, is the story of a remarkable friendship. When Ann felt alone and abandoned, she turned to Rita Marker - having known Rita only as her most vocal opponent on the subject of legalizing euthanasia." "In Deadly Compassion, Rita Marker also explores all of the issues surrounding euthanasia - and some of the most famous right-to-die cases. She discusses in depth the career of Jack Kevorkian, who has written articles advocating medical experiments on death-row prisoners - while they are still alive. And she explains the ramifications of euthanasia in a country without adequate health insurance, like America, where people who really want to live might choose death rather than bankrupt their families." "Deadly Compassion is essential reading for anyone who has misgivings about giving doctors the right to kill. It is also the story of the senseless death of a sensitive woman who discovered that her life's work was a dreadful mistake - and who believed that the man she loved wanted her dead."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

FINISH STRONG is for those of us who want an end-of-life experience to match the life we've enjoyed-defined by love, purpose, and agency. Written with candor and clarity by a former nurse, physician assistant and attorney, FINISH STRONG's stories, facts and dialogue will help prepare for latter days that reflect your priorities and values.

Physician-Assisted Death is the eleventh volume of Biomedical Ethics Reviews. We, the editors, are pleased with the response to the series over the years and, as a result, are happy to continue into a second decade with the same general purpose and zeal. As in the past, contributors to projected volumes have been asked to summarize the nature of the literature, the prevailing attitudes and arguments, and then to advance the discussion in some way by staking out and arguing forcefully for some basic position on the topic targeted for discussion. For the present volume on Physician-Assisted Death, we felt it wise to enlist the services of a guest editor, Dr. Gregg A. Kasting, a practicing physician with extensive clinical knowledge of the various problems and issues encountered in discussing physician assisted death. Dr. Kasting is also our student and just completing a graduate degree in philosophy with a specialty in biomedical ethics here at Georgia State University. Apart from a keen interest in the topic, Dr. Kasting has published good work in the area and has, in our opinion, done an excellent job in taking on the lion's share of editing this well-balanced and probing set of essays. We hope you will agree that this volume significantly advances the level of discussion on physician-assisted euthanasia. Incidentally, we wish to note that the essays in this volume were all finished and committed to press by January 1993.

Why does the UK abandon dying people and outsource this problem to facilities in Switzerland while legislators across the USA, Canada and Australia have drafted laws to give dying people choice over how and when they die? Sarah Wootton, CEO of the campaign group Dignity in Dying, explains why assisted dying's time has come. Drawing parallels with issues such as women's suffrage, reproductive rights and equal marriage, Wootton exposes the hypocrisy of the arguments put forward by those who oppose change and examines how a broken status quo has been imposed against the wishes of dying people for too long.

Dying Right provides an overview of the Death With Dignity movement, a history of how and why Oregon legalized physician-assisted suicide, and an analysis of the future of physician-assisted suicide. Engaging the question of how to balance a patient's sense about the right way to die, a physician's role as a healer, and the state's interest in preventing killing, Dying Right captures the ethical, legal, moral, and medical complexities involved in this ongoing debate.

Compassionate communities are communities that provide assistance for those in need of end of life care, separate from any official heath service provision that may already be available within the community. This idea was developed in 2005 in Allan Kellehear’s seminal volume- Compassionate Cities: Public Health and End of Life Care. In the ensuing ten years the theoretical aspects of the idea have been continually explored, primarily rehearsing academic concerns rather than practical ones. Compassionate Communities: Case Studies from Britain and Europe provides the first major volume describing and examining compassionate community experiments in end of life care from a highly practical perspective. Focusing on community development initiatives and practice challenges, the book offers practitioners and policy makers from the health and social care sectors practical discussions on the strengths and limitations of such initiatives. Furthermore, not limited to providing practice choices the book also offers an important and timely impetus for other practitioners and policy makers to begin thinking about developing their own possible compassionate communities. An essential read for academic, practitioner, and policy audiences in the fields of public health, community development, health social sciences, aged care, bereavement care, and hospice & palliative care, Compassionate Communities is one of only a handful of available books on end of life care that takes a strong health promotion and community development approach.