Medicine has triumphed in modern times, transforming birth, injury, and infectious disease from harrowing to manageable. But in the inevitable condition of aging and death, the goals of medicine seem too frequently to run counter to the interest of the human spirit. Nursing homes, preoccupied with safety, pin patients into railed beds and wheelchairs. Hospitals isolate the dying, checking for vital signs long after the goals of cure have become moot....

"Everyone who lives must inevitably face death. Inspired by traditional Buddhist teachings and decades of work with the dying and their caregivers, this landmark work on death and dying by beloved Buddhist teacher Joan Halifax is a source of wisdom for all those who are charged with a dying person's care, facing their own death, or wishing to explore and contemplate the transformative power of the dying process. Relevant and powerful for people of...

"An exquisitely written, expertly reported memoir and expose; of modern medicine that leads the way to more humane, less invasive end-of-life care based on the author's acclaimed New York Times Magazine piece. This is the story of one daughter's struggle to allow her parents the peaceful, natural deaths they wanted and to investigate the larger forces in medicine that stood in the way. When doctors refused to disable the pacemaker that caused her...

"Dr. Ana Claudia Quintana Arantes's viral TED Talk on end-of-life care cemented her, a palliative care doctor in Brazil, as a global leader on living and dying well. Her international bestseller, Death Is a Day Worth Living, has been translated into eight languages and now is being offered in English for the first time. Death Is a Day Worth Living touches a universal nerve, speaking to our most intimate moments and to the vital part of who we are...

"The first-ever soup-to-nuts practical guide to preparing for death, from how to talk to your children about your will, to how to hack the hospice system, to how your survivors can pull off a great eulogy. Think of this as What to Expect When You're Expecting to Die"-- Provided by publisher. "The first ever practical, compassionate, and comprehensive guide to dying--and living fully until you do. "There is nothing wrong with you for dying," palliative...

"This book serves as a manual of death education that will help patients and their advocates to decide how they wish their lives to end, with practical and legal information to achieve that goal."-- Provided by publisher.

Filmed over a three-year period, this program follows the journeys of three families living with Alzheimer's or dementia. As they struggle with constant challenges, each caregiver describes for the camera what it is like to provide aid and comfort in even the smallest task while still trying to help a spouse or parent maintain a sense of dignity. Myrle, a fiercely independent woman, refuses any offer of help that comes her way, preferring to shoulder...

Although the elderly, infirm, and bedridden may have the potential to improve their health and physical performance, they often display less progress than other patients. For this reason, inexperienced caregivers can become discouraged. This program serves as a source of inspiration for those who are working to help frail and immobilized patients. Viewers are reminded that everyone ages in a unique way; that even the most basic daily activities can...