Handbook For Mortals
By Joanne Lynn, M.D., and Joan Harrold, M.D. A comprehensive and authoritative guide to end of life care written for a general audience by a team that includes some of the world's top specialists. Offers a wealth of practical advice on all aspects of end of life care, including how to make decisions about care, where to find support and treatment resources, how to communicate with physicians, how to get effective pain management, palliative nutrition, withdrawing life-sustaining treatment, issues in hastening death, and a host of other fundamental concerns. Published March, 1999.

Peaceful Dying
By Daniel R. Tobin, M.D., with Karen Lindsey. This practical guide to planning end of life care is based on the FairCare program for peaceful dying which which Dr. Tobin developed at the V. A. hospital in Albany, New York. He is now expanding the program to a network of other hospitals. The book takes a systematic approach to decisionmaking intended to increase autonomy and peace in end of life care. It is written in plain language for use by persons faced with terminal illness and their caregivers. It uses a 26-step program to help identify key decision points in choosing care. Published December, 1998.

Dying Well
By Ira Byock, M.D. The author is a prominent spokesperson for the hospice movement and is president of the Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. This book shows that the immediacy of death can give rare opportunities for emotional and spiritual growth. While presenting a compassionate look at how people can increase their control over health care at the end of life, Byock shares his opinions on the euthanasia debate, assisted suicide, vegetative states, and feeding tubes. Related web site is dyingwell.org.

Unplugged: Reclaiming Our Right to Die in America
In 2005, the Terri Schiavo case galvanized millions to think about end-of-life decision making and question when life ends and how to define a good death. William Colby, the lawyer for Nancy Cruzan, whose 1988 case was one of the first major right-to-die cases, surveys the law and the issues as they are today.

painlaw.org
A uniquely valuable site on the net covering legal issues in pain management and end-of-life palliative care in the United States. The web site is produced by the Project On Palliative Care law of the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law. They are an authoritative source for assistance with legal issues pertaining to many aspects of end-of-life care ranging from pain to withdrawl of life-sustaining treatments. The center can also assist physicians who want to understand their legal obligations to provide relief from pain. This site includes an online education section which provides access to an extensive range of high-quality content through content-sharing arrangements facilitated by Growth House. You can search the IICN Public Library from this site.

Long Goodbye: The Deaths Of Nancy Cruzan
By Bill Colby. Author Bill Colby was the lawyer for the family of Nancy Cruzan, the only right-to-die case ever to come before the U.S. Supreme Court. Written with the drive of a novel, this absorbing memoir is a page-turner that lets us follow the Cruzan family during their agonizing struggle with removal of a feeding tube for their permanently-comatose daughter. Colby's clear narrative gives a no-nonsense introduction to troubling ethical questions of brain death, artificial nutrition and hydration, and medical interventions that can prolong physical existence long after the mind is gone. New paperback edition includes a discussion guide on advance care planning suitable for use in book clubs. Published 2002.

Graceful Passages
Listen to samples from Graceful Passages, a remarkable 2-disc audio CD with a combination of music and readings designed as a comforting and inspirational resource for bedside care of the dying. Messages spoken by spiritual leaders such as Ram Dass, Thich Nhat Hanh, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, and others are accompanied by uplifting music by Emmy award winning composer Gary Remal Malkin. Endorsed by Growth House as a multifaith resource.

Voces Novae
Listen to samples from Meditations on Life - Death, a two-CD collection of music and contemplative readings on the nature of mortality. Music includes works by Bach, Brahms, Barber, Carter, Elgar, Haydn, and other composers performed by the chamber choir Voces Novae. Meditative readings include poetry and prose from Epictetus, William Shakespeare, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, Henry Thoreau, E. E. Cummings, Walt Whitman, and others.

Center for Clinical Ethics and Humanities in Health Care
This interdisciplinary academic center of the University at Buffalo addresses many end of life issues and publishes the Bioethics Bulletin, which is also availble by email. Website includes resources for medical ethics, the rights of dying people and their caregivers, advance directives, hospice care, palliative care, confidentiality and medical record privacy resources, and many links to other medical ethics websites. Includes some good specialized clinical material, including a protocol for rapid extubation of patients. You can search the Growth House database directly from this site.

Tuesdays With Morrie
By Mitch Albom. "Love is the only rational act" is one of the dying observations of Morrie Schwartz, a retired university professor who shares his final thoughts on life, love, and friendship with a young man who is transformed by being witness to a good death. Popularized by a made-for-television movie, this inspirational book is based on a true story. Published September, 1997.

Partnership for Caring
A national leader in the United States for education on the preparation and use of advance directives and living wills to create durable power of attorney for health care. Website includes background on end of life issues, legal information, state-specific forms for the United States, publications and videos to help teach decisionmaking issues, and links to related resources.

Massachusetts Medical Society Committee on Advance Directives
Information on how to make health care proxies both for Massachusetts and other states in the United States. Includes a values history which can help people document views. Includes links to related resources.

Dying Well: Dr. Ira Byock's Web Page
Dr. Byock is a leading figure in the hospice community. His web site provides information about his books and includes the full text of several of his articles related to end-of-life care. You can search the Growth House database from this site.

Heart-To-Heart
Originally created as three, hour-long audio documentaries for national radio broadcast, this wonderful education resource is now available on CD. It will make a great training tool for hospice volunteers, health care professionals, and anyone else who wants to learn about key issues in end-of-life care in an entertaining, easy-to-absorb format. The series draws from over 80 hours of tape and includes remarkable moments with people who are facing death, their families and those who are helping them along the journey. While the stories are personal, the themes are universal as we all struggle to come to terms with the passing of friends, family members, and ultimately, ourselves. It examines the barriers to good care that arise from cultural misunderstanding, from fear over the use of morphine and other drugs, and from lack of funding to pay for good programs.

Transformations In Care
Offers training for caregivers on home care options and providing support to the dying. Also provides training on home funerals. Located in Albion, California.

Compassion In Dying
Counsels terminally ill persons about intensive pain management, comfort or hospice care, and rational suicide. Located in Portland, Oregon. Site includes Supreme Court briefs on the right to die from their National Litigation Project.

On Our Own Terms: Moyers On Dying
In September, 2000, a four-part PBS television series on end-of-life issues aired in the United States. Based on two years of research, a team of award-winning journalists led by Bill and Judith Davidson Moyers covered the stories of the dying, their families, and their caregivers and illustrate the growing struggle to balance medical intervention with comfort and humanity. The series was accompanied by an extensive community action and education campaign. The web site is now in archival form, including various publicity and community-building tools that can still help you raise interest in EOL issues within your own community.

Before I Die
This PBS television website explores the medical, ethical, and social issues surrounding end-of-life care in the United States. Site explains the national "Before I Die" discussion group project, which uses videos of the 1997 TV program and an associated videoconference to raise public awareness of end of life issues. Site has an excellent, well-chosen link list covering major issues in end of life care such as use of durable power of attorney.

Last Wish
By Betty Rollin. In this controversial popular bestseller TV journalist Betty Rollin tells of her mother Ida's two-and-a-half year struggle with ovarian cancer, ending with Ida's decision to end her own life. Reading like a novel, the story paints a realistic picture of difficult cancer chemotherapy and Betty's choice to help her mother commit suicide. The expanded 1998 edition includes current background material on the debate over physician-assisted suicide, a list of resource organizations, the complete text of the Oregon Death With Dignity Act, and a question list about issues for use in discussion groups and classrooms. Published September 1998.

Death and Spirituality
Edited by Kenneth J. Doka with John D. Morgan. This book gives a comprehensive overview of spritual and religious themes likely to arise in caregiving to the dying and the bereaved. It is an excellent educational resource for community clergy, chaplains, pastoral care workers, hospice workers, bereavement counselors, thanatologists, and anyone else who wants a detailed review of current issues in this field. Published February, 1999.

National Public Radio: "The End of Life"
Continuing NPR series exploring death in America. Site includes program transcripts, bibliography, readings, and links to other resources. The site contains a section for sharing personal experiences.

Final Choices: Seeking The Good Death
By Michael Vitez. This book grew out of a five-part newspaper series on end of life care which won a 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Michael Vitez. Intended for a general audience, the book helps health care consumers examine tough choices in medical care, hospice alternatives, home care, assisted suicide, durable power of attorney, and related issues. Published February, 1998.

Final Choices: Seeking The Good Death
This five-part series on end of life care won a 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Michael Vitez. Later published in book form, the series examines tough choices in medical care, hospice alternatives, home care, assisted suicide, and related issues. The outstanding online packaging of the original series makes excellent use of the new media of the web, integrating links to key websites, video footage, and related stories from the Inquirer archives. Includes content on durable power of attorney.

The Four Things That Matter Most
In The Four Things That Matter Most, Dr. Ira Byock, an international leader in palliative care, teaches us how to practice these life-affirming words in our day-to-day lives. Too often we assume that the people we love really know we love them. Dr. Byock reveals the value of stating the obvious and provides insights into how we burden ourselves by hanging on to old grudges unconsciously and unnecessarily. He shows us how to avoid living with those awkward silences and uncomfortable issues that distance us from the people we love and erode our sense of well-being and joy. His insights and stories help us to forgive, appreciate, love, and celebrate one another more fully.

Living Well At The End Of Life
A companion website for a year-long series of articles on end of life issues by the Copley Newspapers of northern Illinois. This noteworthy project includes material on use of advance directives and durable power of attorney, hospice services, health care costs, and moving personal accounts of how some people are dealing with the many choices they face at the end of their own lives. Includes links to related resources.

Facing Death Videos
This outstanding four-tape video series by Family Experiences Productions, Inc., (FEPI) gives a compassionate and balanced look at how to face terminal illness with dignity and mindfulness. Topics covered include providing physical, emotional, and spiritual comfort both to the person who is dying and to the caregivers. Tape two is particularly strong in advising the dying on how to make their wishes clear on what care they want at the end of life. Tape three covers understanding end of life patient needs. All four tapes would be a good resource for every hospice, managed care organization, public library, and church. Significant discounts and package customization are available for bulk orders, allowing hospice providers to distribute branded copies to all clients as an in-home educational resource. Winner of the 1997 President's Award by the National Hospice Organization, the videos also have a Growth House four-star rating, our highest award.

The Courage To Laugh
By Allen Klein. Klein, the author of The Healing Power Of Humor, offers a poignant and inspirational look at humor, hope, and healing in the face of death and dying. In the words of Roger Rabbit, "Sometimes a laugh is the only weapon we have." The book takes a thoughtful and compassionate look at both the uses and abuses of humor as part of the caregiving toolkit.

Family Decisions Coalition
The law of New York state does not authorize families to make critical medical decisions for loved ones who lack the capacity to decide for themselves. Tragically, this fact is often not discovered until it is too late. As a result, incapacitated patients with no Health Care Proxy are subject to medical decisions made by doctors who may not know the patient, or hospital and nursing home administrators and lawyers, who must act to minimize their own legal risk. This site gives information specific to New York and has links to resources for other states.

Scottish Voluntary Euthanasia Society (VESS)
Devoted to death with dignity, self deliverance, living wills, and voluntary euthanasia.

DeathNet
Presented by the Right To Die Society of Canada. Has material on death with dignity, euthanasia, assisted suicide, living wills, and advance directives.

World Federation Of Right To Die Societies
International directory of organizations concerned with human rights at end of life.

Dying With Dignity
A Canadian society concerned with the quality of dying.

Doctor-Assisted Suicide: A Guide
A good compilation of links related to euthanasia provided by Longwood College Library. Includes legal briefs, advance directives, living wills, and other background materials. You can search the Growth House database from this site.

Death With Dignity National Center
The mission of the Death With Dignity National Center is to promote a comprehensive, humane, responsive system of care for terminally-ill patients. The organization is located in the United States.

Catholic Health Association (CHA)
The Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA) is the national leadership organization of more than 1,200 Catholic healthcare entities and individuals. The membership constitutes the largest single segment of the non-profit hospitals in the United States, with over 130,000 beds. Works to promote the Catholic healthcare ministry. Website includes much online content related to health care policy, needs assessment, hints for conducting focus groups related to life-threatening illness, and the full text of Supportive Voice, the quarterly newsletter of Supportive Care Of The Dying, a coalition of thirteen Catholic healthcare organizations. Offers a video titled Living And Healing During Life-Threatening Illness, presenting findings of their 1997 focus group interviews with persons affected by life-threatening illnesses.

Dying Well Network
Death with dignity advocacy organization that provides information about hastening death to terminally ill persons but does not give assistance. They provide services only within the immediate area of Spokane, Washington, and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Site includes Supreme Court briefs.

Project Nightlight
A volunteer-based, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the mission that no one need die alone. Brings compassion, comfort and hope to the bedside when death is near, through volunteers and a community education program. Web site includes a hospice locator for the United States.

Ready to Live: Prepared to Die
By Amy Harwell. A book about being alive while preparing for death. The author was diagnosed with terminal cancer and set out to come to terms with her own illness. The book includes practical advice on the nuts and bolts of preparing for death, including planning for health care, making advance directives, funeral arrangements, and similar needs. A straightforward "Ready To Live" checklist will help readers review how ready they are for life's biggest adventure.

ERGO's Euthanasia World Directory
The Euthanasia Research And Guidance Organization (ERGO) is devoted to the topic of physician-assisted dying for persons who are terminally or hopelessly ill and wish to end their suffering. Includes general information on the right to die movement.

Scott Roberts' Living Wills and Advance Directives Page
An excellent collection of links related to advance directives, living wills, and durable power of attorney.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Decision (96 C.D.O.S. 1507)
Full text of one of the right to die decisions before the Supreme Court.

Euthanasia in Holland
Fact sheet on how assisted suicide actually works in the Netherlands.

Oregon Death With Dignity Act
Full text of the bill under Supreme Court review.

U.S. Supreme Court Decision On Physician-Assisted Suicide
Overview of the 1997 Supreme Court death with dignity decision and hyperlinks to related legal materials, including the complete texts of the Supreme Court final decisions and many amici briefs.

Practical Issues in Physician-Assisted Suicide
Annals of Internal Medicine, 15 January 1997. 126:146-151. Reviews medical issues and literature related to patient motivation and mental state when requesting euthanasia, and the physician-patient ethical issues involved.

Voluntary Euthanasia Society Of Tasmania
Information on advance directives, death with dignity, and links to related sites.

Instituto Mexicano de Tanatología A.C.
The Mexican Institute of Thanatology works with terminally ill persons and their families to provide counseling and support. El labor del Instituto Mexicano de Tanatología, A.C. está centrada en la persona y su familia y busca el respeto de su libertad, autonomía y dignidad en el proceso de muerte y duelo. Located in Mexico. Web site is in Spanish.

[ Try another search - Growth House home page ]