books

Many authors have written on the subject of death and dying, from dealing with grief and bereavement to traditions around death and funerals in different cultures around the world.

Here is a selection of books available from Amazon.

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Can’t We Talk about Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast

Can'T we talk about Book Cover

In her first memoir, Roz Chast brings her signature wit to the topic of aging parents. Spanning the last several years of their lives and told through four-color cartoons, family photos, and documents, and a narrative as rife with laughs as it is with tears,

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The Conversation by Angelo E. Volandes

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There is an unspoken dark side of modern medicine–keeping patients alive at any price. Two thirds of Americans die in healthcare institutions, tethered to machines and tubes, even though research shows that most prefer to die at home in comfort, surrounded by loved ones.

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Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

Being Mortal Cover

For most of human history, death was a common, ever-present possibility. It didn’t matter whether you were five or fifty – every day was a roll of the dice. But now, as medical advances push the boundaries of survival further, we have become increasingly detached from the reality of being mortal.

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On Death & Dying by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

On Death and Dying Cover

One of the most important psychological studies of the late twentieth century, On Death and Dying grew out of Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s famous interdisciplinary seminar on death, life, and transition. In this remarkable book, she first explored the now-famous five stages of death:

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Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty

Smke gets in your eyes Cover

From her first day at Westwind Cremation & Burial, Caitlin Doughty threw herself into her curious new profession. Coming face-to-face with the very thing we go to great lengths to avoid thinking about she started to wonder about the lives of those she cremated and the mourning families

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How We Die by Sherwin B. Nuland

How we die

There are many books intended to help people deal with the trauma of bereavement, but few which explore the reality of death itself. How We Die sets out to explain exactly what happens to each of us when we die. Sherwin B. Nuland – with over 30 years’ experience as a surgeon –

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Final Journeys by Maggie Callanan

Final Jourenys

For over 20 years , hospice nurse Maggie Callanan has tended to the terminally ill and been a cornerstone of support for their loved ones. Here is the guide we all need to understand the special needs of the dying and those who care for them. From supporting a husband or wife faced with

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Dying Well by Ira Byock MD

Dying Well

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. Dying Well brings us to the homes and bedsides of families with whom Dr. Byock has worked,

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The Best Care Possible by Ira Byock MD

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A doctor on the front lines of hospital care illuminates one of the most important and controversial social issues of our time.  Though the vast majority of Americans would prefer to die at home—which hospice care provides—many of us spend our last days fearful

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Being with Dying by Joan Halifax Roshi

Being with dying

The Buddhist approach to death can be of great benefit to people of all backgrounds—as has been demonstrated time and again in Joan Halifax’s decades of work with the dying and their caregivers. Inspired by traditional Buddhist teachings, her work is a source of wisdom

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Funeral Planning Basics: a step-by-step guide by Enodare

Funeral Planning Basics

Thinking about planning a funeral? Want to save time and money? We all come to a stage in our lives when it’s natural to think about what will happen when we are gone. We wonder about loved ones and what we would like to leave to them as a parting gift.

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The Tibetan Book Of Living And Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche

The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying

Written by the Buddhist meditation master and popular international speaker Soygal Rinpoche, this highly acclaimed book clarifies the majestic vision of life and death that underlies the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. It includes not only a lucid, inspiring and

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Children and Grief: Helping Your Child by Joey O’Connor

Children and Grief

This is a book written for you and your children,” explains Joey O’Connor. “It initiates a conversation on a difficult subject most people prefer to avoid. It is about people like you and me struggling to figure out what they really believe when the unbelievable has happened.

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Let’s Talk About Death by Steve Gordon & Irene Kacandes

Let's Talk About Death

Experts in end-of-life care tell us that we should talk about death and dying with relatives and friends, but how do we get such conversations off the ground in a society that historically has avoided the topic? This book provides one example of such a conversation.

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The Long Goodbye: A Memoir by Meghan O’Rourke

The Long Goodbye by Meghan O'Rourke

What is it like to mourn today, in a culture that has largely set aside rituals that acknowledge grief? After her mother died of cancer at the age of fifty-five, Meghan O’Rourke found that nothing had prepared her for the intensity of her sorrow. 

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The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

The Year of Magical Thinking

From one of America’s iconic writers, a stunning book of electric honesty and passion.  Joan Didion explores an intensely personal yet universal experience: a portrait of a marriage–and a life, in good times and bad–that will speak to anyone who has ever loved a husband or wife or child.

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