For patients and their loved ones, no care decisions are more profound than those made near the end of life. Unfortunately, the experience of dying in the United States is often characterized by fragmented care, inadequate treatment of distressing symptoms, frequent transitions among care settings, and enormous care responsibilities for families. According to this report, the current health care system of rendering more intensive services than are necessary and desired by patients, and the lack of coordination among programs increases risks to patients and creates avoidable burdens on them and their families. Dying in America is a study of the current state of health care for persons of all ages who are nearing the end of life. Death is not a strictly medical event. Ideally, health care for those nearing the end of life harmonizes with social, psychological, and spiritual support. All people with advanced illnesses who may be approaching the end of life are entitled to access to high-quality, compassionate, evidence-based care, consistent with their wishes. Dying in America evaluates strategies to integrate care into a person- and family-centered, team-based framework, and makes recommendations to create a system that coordinates care and supports and respects the choices of patients and their families. The findings and recommendations of this report will address the needs of patients and their families and assist policy makers, clinicians and their educational and credentialing bodies, leaders of health care delivery and financing organizations, researchers, public and private funders, religious and community leaders, advocates of better care, journalists, and the public to provide the best care possible for people nearing the end of life.

Poems that amplify the voices and souls of black men at various stages of their lives, men who always feel as if they are "C2D," close to death.

Case studies of near-death experiences in children reveal the patients' ability to communicate with deceased relatives and friends, as well as their experiences while dead

What happens to consciousness during the act of dying? The most compelling answers come from people who almost die and later recall events that occurred while lifesaving resuscitation, emergency care, or surgery was performed. These events are now called near-death experiences (NDEs). As medical and surgical skills improve, innovative procedures can bring back patients who have traveled farther on the path to death than at any other time in history. Physicians and healthcare professionals must learn how to appropriately treat patients who report an NDE. It is estimated that more than 10 million people in the United States have experienced an NDE. Hagan and the contributors to this volume engage in evidence-based research on near-death experiences and include physicians who themselves have undergone a near-death experience. This book establishes a new paradigm for NDEs.

When the end of life makes its inevitable appearance, people should be able to expect reliable, humane, and effective caregiving. Yet too many dying people suffer unnecessarily. While an "overtreated" dying is feared, untreated pain or emotional abandonment are equally frightening. Approaching Death reflects a wide-ranging effort to understand what we know about care at the end of life, what we have yet to learn, and what we know but do not adequately apply. It seeks to build understanding of what constitutes good care for the dying and offers recommendations to decisionmakers that address specific barriers to achieving good care. This volume offers a profile of when, where, and how Americans die. It examines the dimensions of caring at the end of life: Determining diagnosis and prognosis and communicating these to patient and family. Establishing clinical and personal goals. Matching physical, psychological, spiritual, and practical care strategies to the patient's values and circumstances. Approaching Death considers the dying experience in hospitals, nursing homes, and other settings and the role of interdisciplinary teams and managed care. It offers perspectives on quality measurement and improvement, the role of practice guidelines, cost concerns, and legal issues such as assisted suicide. The book proposes how health professionals can become better prepared to care well for those who are dying and to understand that these are not patients for whom "nothing can be done."

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.

"What is it like to die? Despite the poet's plaint that no one has returned from that dark land to tell us, there is a growing body of information about the nature of death. Its common, basic features have been confirmed and are presented in this extraordinary book, the first scientific investigation of the near-death experience. From interviews with more than a hundred men and women who have come very close to death or have experienced "clinical" death -- a state in which vital signs such as heartbeat and respiration are entirely absent -- and have survived, Dr. Ring shows that certain elements are common. He confirms that findings reported by Raymond Moody concerning the near-death experience -- a sense of floating out of one's body, of entering a dark tunnel, of experiencing a panoramic life review and of encountering a brilliant golden light. In this book Dr. Ring elaborates on what happens at the threshold of death. He tells of the frequency of these experiences, discusses whether the manner in which one almost died --illness, accident, suicide -- changes the nature of the experience, and probes what role religion has in shaping the approach to death. He shows that the near-death experience is not affected by an individual's ages, sex education, race or religion. He found, however, that the typical near-death experience -- which he calls the "core experience" -- tends to unfold in a series of five stages. the "deeper" the stages, the fewer the people who reach it. The experience tends to end with an encounter with what is described as a "voice" or "presence" that asks whether the person wants to return to life. The aftereffects of the core experience are dramatic and profound. The fear of death tends to vanish, and the total impact is akin to a spiritual rebirth."-Publisher.

*Highly Commended in the Psychiatry category at the 2012 British Medical Association Book Awards* A near-death experience (NDE) is a phenomenon whereby powerful physical and emotional sensations and visions are experienced by someone who is either close to death or has been declared clinically dead. This is an accessible guide to the theory and evidence underlying the phenomenon of NDEs. With contributions from leading international experts in the field, it provides an overview of the research into NDEs, the nature of NDEs and how they have been experienced around the world, and the physiological, psychological and medical bases of the phenomenon. The book also discusses children's NDEs, NDEs from a religious perspective, the role of light in NDEs, the assessment and management of NDEs, and the future of research into the phenomenon. This essential handbook will provide all those who may encounter someone who has had an NDE with the knowledge and understanding they need, including nurses, doctors, palliative care workers, psychologists, psychiatrists and pastoral workers.

Progress in medical science has increased our understanding of what happens when the brain begins to fail. Psychology delves ever more deeply into the nature of the self. In Dying to Live, Blackmore, a leading expert in near-death experiences, explores what psychology, biology, and medicine have to say about this extraordinary aspect of death and dying.. . . the best resource for materialist arguments that currently exists. . . . Blackmore's book is the most up-to-date catalogue of misgivings about the dualist concept of self and the religionist's desire for the afterlife vis-a-vis experiences near-death. . . . a fine book. -Journal of Scientific Exploration. . . one of the most intelligent and comprehensive examinations of the near-death experience to date. For thoroughness of treatment and tidiness of theory, the book is quite without equal. -Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research[This book is] brilliant though controversial . . . -ChoiceHer book is a model of understanding and . . . moving in its course through a sensitive subject. -New ScientistWell documented and well researched . . . The author's impartial treatment of diverse beliefs on the subject helps readers to see how scientific and spiritual points of view can coexist. There's much to think about here. -School Library Journal

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.