Final Gifts: Understanding the Special Awareness, Needs, and Communications of the Dying

I read this book in 1996, when I was taking care of my father who was dying of lung cancer, which had metastasized everywhere. I am a Registered Nurse, & worked for 20 yrs in Intensive Care units. I took care of patients immediately after open heart surgery & have some trauma experience, so, I knew that death & dying could/would be messy, just like birth. However, most of the time, I was not thinking like a nurse. I was thinking like a daughter, who had very little time to be with my father (less than 2 weeks.) My father's hospice nurse, who was also a friend & neighbor, recommended this book to me. It helped me immensely, & also gave me some insight into helping my patients & their families deal with death & dying. I have since recommended this book & hospice care to my patients & their families. As a nurse, I had been told by many patients about their "near death" experiences, so, I knew when my father told me he was talking to people he didn't know, that he was in the presence of Angels, which was very comforting to me. He told me on Sunday, that he would die on Thursday, April 4th, his mother's birthday. She had preceded him in death many years before. When he started telling me that "Granny" was in the room, several days before, I was comforted knowing that he would not have to make this "journey" alone. He was lucid until 30 minutes before his death. He did die on that day, & he had the most rapturous smile before he took his last breath. His smile was like, "Ok, I'm ready. Come get me." There is a saying, "Medicine is a science, Nursing is an art." This is a wonderful book for anyone who may be traveling on this journey. Death is just as much a part of life as birth.

This book was informative and comforting to me after I lost my mother to cancer. I wished I'd had this information while I was caring for her during her final months of life. However, it helped me to understand her needs and desires as I reflected on her health and needs during my grieving the first month following her passing. I strongly recommend it as an accompaniment to the services of Hospice.

I first read this book as my dad was approaching death, which was caused by his cancer. It gave me valuable insights into what my dad, and my family, were going through. I have since purchased and given copies of this book to several friends and family members. I highly recommend it to anyone, but especially if they are currently going through the impending loss of a loved one.

Final Gifts is a blessing for anyone going through the experience of sharing "nearing death" end of life with a loved one. This book was given to me by Hospice nurses and it opened my eyes and helped me to understand some of the communications that my mother was trying to convey. I recommend this book to anyone who has a terminally ill loved one.

Ms. Callanan and Ms. Kelley have written a guide of different ways patients may react in the process of dying and how everyone involved can be somewhat prepared for what happens towards the end of life. It is very much written in layman's terms. You won't have to worry about cracking open a dictionary for this baby. This book was a great help to my wife when she, her dad and her four siblings helped their dying mother. Many of the examples cited in this book did occur during the final week. The book is illuminating and will give the reader a great deal of comfort. Do yourself a favor and read it.