Saying Goodbye to Someone You Love: Your Emotional Journey Through End of Life and Grief

Norine Dresser, Fredda Wasserman, MA, MPH, LMFT

Demos Medical Publishing, May 12, 2010 - Family & Relationships - 186 pages

Named a 2010 Self Help Best Book by Library Journal

Saying Goodbye To Someone You Love consists of moving narratives about end of life and grief. These personal histories are complemented by practical guidelines for those caring for their loved ones through the last stages of life. For those who are grieving, the true-to-life-stories demonstrate how others have navigated through the tidal wave of emotions and reactions that characterize the grief process. For health care professionals and those who are offering support to grievers, Saying Goodbye To Someone You Love provides a new perspective on the challenges of caring for the dying and living with grief.

Hundreds of poignant, touching, loving, humorous personal experiences address readers' concerns and curiosity about how others have faced life's final chapter with love and dignity. Specific issues include talking about death, hospice, funerals, grieving, and celebrating life.

Saying Goodbye To Someone You Love empowers readers by

• Bringing compassion and awareness to end of life issues
  
• Providing examples of loving care at the moment of death
  
• illuminating uncharted territory
  
• Demonstrating how others cope
  
• Demystifying the grief process
  
• Inspiring hope
  
The narratives and advice in Saying Goodbye To Someone You Love benefits family members, friends and health care professionals as they travel the emotional journey through end of life and grief.

Contents

• 1 Elephant in the Room: 1
• 2 The Conversation: 11
• 3 The H Word: 25
• 4 Caregiver Challenges: 35
• 5 Celebrating Life: 53
• 6 Preparing to Say Goodbye: 63
• 7 Final Moments: 79
• 8 Funerals: 95
• 9 Memorials: 115
• 10 Grieving: 127
• 11 What About the Children?: 151
• 12 Supporting Those Who Grieve: 171
• 13 Creating Your New Life: 183
• Discussion Guide: 197
• Resources: 199
• Index: 203

About the author

Norine Dresser is a folklorist and writer. She is the author of Multicultural Manners: New Rules of Etiquette for a Changing Society; Come as You Aren't: Feeling at Home with Multicultural Celebrations and also wrote the eight-year award-winning Los Angeles Times column, "Multicultural Manners." She taught for twenty years at California State University Los Angeles, lectures frequently, and has worked with a variety of government agencies and associations.

Fredda Wasserman, MA, MPH, LMFT, is the Clinical Director of Adult Programs and Education at OUR HOUSE Grief Support Center, the leading non-profit grief center in California.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Saying Goodbye to Someone You Love: Your Emotional Journey Through End of Life and Grief
• Authors: Norine Dresser, Fredda Wasserman, MA, MPH, LMFT
• Publisher: Demos Medical Publishing, 2010
• ISBN: 193528178X, 9781935281788
• Length: 186 pages
• Subjects: Family & Relationships / Death, Grief, Bereavement