RADICAL ACTS OF LOVE: How We Find Hope at the End of Life

Most people under 60 have never seen a person die, so have become deeply fearful about death; both their own, and the deaths of their beloved others. They have no role models to show them how to care for a dying person, and therefore no confidence in being able to do so. 'My hope is that the baby boomer cohort who pushed for the return of the midwives to de-medicalised birth will also be instrumental in reclaiming the death process. This book is my contribution to the re-empowering of all of us to take charge of our lives and our deaths, remembering that we know how to die, just as we knew how to come into this world. We also know how to heal, and how to settle our lives as best we can before we die... The greatest gift we could give our loved ones.' Janie Brown, oncology nurse for 30 years and counsellor of cancer patients with terminal diagnoses, recounts 20 conversations she has had with the dying, including those personally close to her. Each conversation uncovers a different perspective and experience of death, while at the same time exploring its universalities. We meet George, defying death, Jim who will have no talk of dying, Brigid with her best laid plans and Bella talking about soul retrieval. Each chapter illuminates the experience of opening up to death, preparing, healing the past, dealing with unfinished business or accepting what is unresolved, making choices about dying on one's own terms, and learning to draw comfort from nature. A reassuring road map through one of the most important and least discussed experiences of our lives. These stories heal, nourish and strengthen your heart. 282pp.