The Needs of the Dying: A Guide for Bringing Hope, Comfort, and Love to Life's Final Chapter

by Kessler, David

• ISBN13: 9780060958213
• ISBN10: 0060958219
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-08-31
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications
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Summary

In gentle, compassionate language, The Needs of the Dying helps us through the last chapter of our lives. Author David Kessler has identified key areas of concern: the need to be treated as a living human being, the need for hope, the need to express emotions, the need to participate in care, the need for honesty, the need for spirituality, and the need to be free of physical pain. Examining the physical and emotional experiences of life-challenging illnesses, Kessler provides a vocabulary for communication with doctors, with hospital staff, and with each other, and-at a time when the right words are exceedingly difficult to find-he helps readers find a way to say good-bye. Using comforting and touching stories, including new accounts about Michael Landon and Anthony Perkins, he provides information to help us meet the needs of a loved one at this important time in our lives.

Table of Contents

The Needs of the Dying	ix
Author's Note	xi
Foreword to the New Edition	xiii
Introduction	xvii
A Living Human Being	1	(16)
Expressing Emotions	17	(19)
Participating in Decisions	36	(19)
The Physiology of Pain	55	(23)
The Emotions of Pain	78	(13)
Spirituality	91	(19)
Children	110	(16)
The Physiology of Death	126	(19)
Dying in the Eye of the Storm	145	(11)
Not Dying Alone	156	(12)
The Body	168	(25)
Epilogue
A Message for the Dying	189	(1)
A Message for the Living	190	(3)
Acknowledgments	193	(2)
A Note on Sources	195