Final Gifts - by Maggie Callanan & Patricia Kelley (Paperback)

About the Book

In this moving and compassionate classic--now updated with new material from the authors--hospice nurses Callanan and Kelley share their intimate experiences with patients at the end of life, drawn from more than 20 years' experience tending the terminally ill.

Book Synopsis

In this moving and compassionate classic, 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--now updated with new material from the authors.

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.

Review Quotes

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

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

"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

About the Author

Maggie Callanan is a hospice nurse and author of Final Journeys and Final Gifts. She lectures widely to lay and professional audiences on death and dying, bereavement, and hospice care. She lives on the New England coast.

Patricia Kelley has worked in hospice care since 1978. She formerly held positions as Clinical Director of Montgomery Hospice in Maryland and as Director of Health Systems Leadership at the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. She now works as a national and international consultant providing education and training on issues relating to hospice and palliative care. Patricia is also the author of Companion to Grief: Finding Consolation When Someone You Love Has Died.