Hospice Palliative Care Book Reviews &
The Palliative Care Book of the Month
Dr. Woodruff, MD
(Australia)
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New Section
The Palliative Care Book of the Month
TALKING WITH CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ABOUT DEATH AND DYING
Second edition
Mary Turner
Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2006
160 pp ISBN 1-84310-441-5
RRP £19.99, $US34.95, $A51.95. |
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‘The kids? They’ll be right! They’ll get over it!’ Or ‘You need to pull yourself together and get on with it!’ I wonder how often things like that have been said. With experience as both a grieving child and as a parent, I know that these things do not automatically get better and I can appreciate the difficulties that adults have in talking appropriately to grieving children.
Well, here is a wonderful book for adults wanting to provide help and support for grieving children. How difficult it can be for parents or friends when children bottle it up, or regress, or misbehave. Written in simple language by a psychotherapist and counsellor, Mary Turner’s experience shines through.
The first section is For The Helper, the adult. It provides general guidance about dealing with grieving children, without being prescriptive. There is a useful section on the manifestations of distress in grieving children.
The second part (more than three-quarters of the book) is a resource that the adult can use with the child as a starting point for a facilitated discussion. Attractively illustrated, with just a few words per page, it addresses the important issues in a very child-friendly manner. Statements are made in simple language and there are plenty of open-ended questions to help kindle a conversation: whether to talk about their feelings or not, the naturalness of dying, talking about funerals, talking about someone who has died, being allowed to express fears and worries as well as sadness, dreams and nightmares, and accepting help from others.
Given that many trying to help bereaved children are themselves grieving, this book would be invaluable. Make a note of it and recommend it to the next person anxious about grieving children. Or buy a copy and lend it out.
For more details and/or to purchase click the following link:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1843104415/iahpc-20
Roger Woodruff
Director of Palliative Care, Austin Health,
Melbourne, Australia
(January 2007)
Book Reviews
THERAPEUTIC GUIDELINES: PALLIATIVE CARE.
Second edition
Palliative Care Expert Group (Peter Ravenscroft, Chairman)
Therapeutic Guidelines Limited, 2005
369 pp ISBN 0-975739-3-2-8
RRP $A39.00 (plus postage/handling)
– Also available on CD and for PDAs. Available at www.tg.com.au
This is the second edition of the little pocket-sized Australian guide to Palliative Care. Written by a panel of palliative care specialists, it pretty much covers the field. The opening chapters cover the principles of palliative care, ethical issues, communication, and grief and bereavement. There is a chapter on emergencies that covers such conditions as spinal cord compression, haemorrhage and acute confusion. There is an interesting chapter on the influence of intercurrent illnesses on the delivery of palliative care. The remainder of the book is made up of chapters on the management of pain and a system-by-system discussion of other clinical problems.
This is not a referenced textbook, but a portable quick-reference guide to palliative care and in that it is successful. The options of getting it on CD-ROM or for PDA are a bonus. There is nothing peculiarly Australian about the content and junior medical staff involved with palliative care in other countries would find this book a valuable resource.
THE HEALING POWER OF GRIEF
The Journey Through Loss to Life and Laughter
Gloria Lintermans and Marilyn Stolzman
Champion Press, 2006
361 pp ISBN 1932783482
RRP $US16.
My colleague and good friend is devastated. His 31-year-old son was knocked off his bicycle and killed on the weekend. Observing acute grief outside the professional setting makes me wonder whether we who work in oncology and palliative care tend to overlook how much grief and suffering our patients leave behind.
This new self-help book is written by a professional writer (Lintermans) and a psychotherapist specializing in grief counselling (Stolzman). It is based on the twenty- four months of Lintermans’ own bereavement after her husband’s death, interpreted and explained by Stolzman. The point is made that ‘There is no way around grief…Real healing is a combination of time and educated grieving that truly allows you to embrace not only the continuation of your life but the joy that life offers.’ Based loosely on Kubler-Ross’ model Shock/Denial/Anger/Depression/ and Integration-Adjustment-Transition are dealt with over a time frame of twenty-four months. It is full of useful lists of Do’s and Don’ts. There are also lists of questions the bereaved commonly ask themselves, complete with explanations and answers. There is also a 100-page workbook to help the bereaved work through their issues. I liked this book because I thought it was very down-to-earth, full of common sense and very practical.
FINDING MEANING WITH CHARLES
Care-giving with love through a degenerative disease
Janet Edmunson
JME Insights, 2006
291 pp ISBN 0-9778133-0-4
RRP $US15.95
Anyone caring for a loved one with a progressive neurodegenerative disease will be both comforted and inspired by this book. It is the story of caring for her husband with a Parkinson’s-like disease for the five years, or so, up until his death. They even had to deal with diagnostic uncertainty – the true diagnosis of CBGD (cortical basal ganglionic degeneration) only being revealed at autopsy. There are many insightful comments about how to deal with the legion problems that accompany this type of disease, both as a companion and as a caregiver. Each chapter features Caregiving Affirmations (also collected together in an appendix at the end of the book) – little messages to those whose lot it is to follow in her footsteps.
I particularly liked the message in her dedication at the beginning, applying as it does to all who work in or are touched by palliative care.
‘Care giving is not a solo endeavour. I dedicate this book to all those who helped me care for Charles – our families, the nurses and doctors, friends, and work colleagues. None of us is as strong as all of us’
OPENING TO DYING AND GRIEVING
A Sacred Journey
Ron Valle and Mary Mohs
Yes International Publishers, 2006
104 pp ISBN 0-936663-40-5
RRP $US18.95.
This is a challenging book, personally challenging. The authors have considerable experience in exploring spirituality and are the founders of the non-profit organization, Awakening: A Center for Exploring Living and Dying. Their goal ‘is to encourage and support those who seek the direct personal experience of the sacred within. In this context the times of dying and grieving are seen as spiritually auspicious times to awaken our deeper essence or spiritual self.’ The book offers exercises and tools to encourage as well as to enhance the process. As one reviewer notes ‘If one is confronted by the necessity to embrace the reality of death, this book will be a significantly helpful resource.’
Roger Woodruff
Director of Palliative Care, Austin Health,
Melbourne, Australia
(January 2007)
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