Finding Peace at the End of Life: A Death Doula's Guide for Families and Caregivers

"Beautiful, poignant, pitch perfect and accessible . . . a road-map for clinicians, patients, family members, and caregivers"--BJ Miller, MD, author of A Beginner's Guide to the End: Practical Advice for Living Life and Facing Death

This groundbreaking book encourages us to face our fears and engage in an open, honest dialog about death. Here, longtime "death doula" Henry Fersko-Weiss helps the dying discover meaning in their lives, express that meaning in powerful and beautiful legacies, and plan for their final days with dignity.

The doula approach to death emphasizes thoughtful planning for how the last days should look, sound, and feel, and encourages the use of touch, guided imagery, and ritual during the dying process. It also calls for around-the-clock vigil care, which provides emotional and spiritual support for both the dying person and their loved ones.

Henry Fersko-Weiss, LCSW, is executive director of the International End-of-Life Doula Association. In 2003, Henry created the very first End-of-Life Doula Program in the US at a hospice in New York City and has built many other programs based on his model. His work has been featured in the New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and elsewhere. He is on the faculty of the Open Center's Art of Dying Institute. Visit him at www.inelda.org.

Review Quotes:

"Written for families and caregivers, this book provides a clear overview of end-of-life doulas and a compelling case for their wider use in terminal care. It also supplies some wonderful ideas and techniques for all readers who want to have a more peaceful, meaningful death for themselves or their loved ones." - Library Journal 

"Warm stories of client experiences give permission to imagine a death experienced with as much humanity as the rest of life, with profound results for everyone affected by the event. Fersko-Weiss's perspective is a desperately needed reminder of the value of facing life's most difficult transitions with open eyes and hearts." - Publishers Weekly

"This is a pitch perfect, accessible book on an otherwise inaccessible subject. Just what the world needs right now. Mr. Fersko-Weiss points us to all sorts of ways to find meaning at the end of life, or ways to create it. His beautiful and poignant stories can be used as road-maps, not only for clinicians, but also for patients, family members, or caregivers who wish to stay connected through to the end of life." - BJ Miller, MD, author of A Beginner's Guide to the End

"An inspired and practical guide on accompanying those on the precipice of death. Henry reaches into his years of experience in leading doula trainings to provide the reader with invaluable tools. He focuses in on the essential non-medical elements that really matter like deep listening, sitting vigil, establishing a calm and receptive environment and facilitating meaningful rituals. Lots of wisdom in these pages." - Frank Ostaseski, author Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully, founder of the Metta Institute and co-founder of the Zen Hospice Project

"Henry's calm, practical, and pioneering book is an excellent guide for those wishing to learn how to be a doula for the dying, whether formal or informal, which will certainly also make them an inspiration for the consciously living. This book should be taken up with great relief to guide us from now, while vibrantly alive, and certainly at the time of transition." - Robert A. F. Thurman, Jey Tsong Khapa professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University and author of Infinite Life and Man of Peace

"This book describes an approach to end of life care that might best be described as witness. The doula program described here provides skilled, compassionate, mindful presence to people at the end of life and their loved ones, helping guide them to an experience of dying which affirms their lives and enriches the lives of those left behind. I wish all patients had access to this amazing program." - Leslie Blackhall, Section Chief for Palliative Medicine and Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Virginia School of Medicine

"As a pioneer in the work of improving end-of-life care, Henry Fersko-Weiss has written a remarkable book. Drawing from decades of work with the dying, Fersko-Weiss offers up stories and insights as he humbly chronicles his own journey of crafting a much-needed and innovative approach to end-of-life care. Caring for the Dying is medicine for a world where far too many of us experience 'unfortunate' deaths. A must read." - Amy Wright Glenn, author of Birth, Breath, and Death: Meditations on Motherhood, Chaplaincy, and Life as a Doula