In this moving and compassionate classic—now updated with new material from the authors—hospice nurses Maggie Callanan and Patricia Kelley share their intimate experiences with patients at the end of life, drawn from more than twenty years’ experience tending the terminally ill. Through their stories we come to appreciate the near-miraculous ways in which the dying communicate their needs, reveal their feelings, and even choreograph their own final moments; we also discover the gifts—of wisdom, faith, and love—that the dying leave for the living to share. Filled with practical advice on responding to the requests of the dying and helping them prepare emotionally and spiritually for death, Final Gifts shows how we can help the dying person live fully to the very end.
Two-time Caldecott Honor author/illustrator Lane Smith tells a whimsical story about a little rabbit searching for the best gift for someone very special. A thoughtful little Rabbit sets out to find the perfect gift for his Nana. He knows she will love anything he brings her but Rabbit wants this gift to be extra special. As he travels on his quest, Rabbit encounters an assortment of creatures-a crow, a smiling full moon, a stickler (whatever that is), a big fish, and a volcano. Each is certain they offer the best advice but nothing they suggest seems right for his Nana. It's not until Rabbit reaches the highest peak, that he finds exactly what he's been searching for. The award -winning illustrator of bestsellers including Penguin Problems and Giraffe Problems, brings originality and gentle humor to a story that parents and grandparents will be sharing with their children for years to come.
The inspirational memoir from the founder of the 'You, Me & The Big C' podcast, Rachael Bland. Having been told that she only had a matter of months left to live and writing this in what was sadly her final days, Rachael brings her warmth, courage and humour to the page in this heart-warming and heart-breaking story. Part memoir, part advice, 'For Freddie' beautifully encapsulates the grace and fearlessness in which Rachael lived her life. This is her legacy and an incredible final gift to her son.
The story of one courageous woman--Louise Viola Swanson Wollenberg--and her tremendous love of life and family and her faith and resolve. But it is also the story of her equally courageous family who, in the process of rising to the occasion and observing Louise's long-held final wishes, not only overcame so many stigmas about the process of death, but, at the same time, rediscovered what it means to celebrate life itself.--p. 4 of cover.
"Built on her ... Modern Love column, 'When a Couch is More Than a Couch' (9/23/2016), a ... memoir of living meaningfully with 'death in the room' by the 38-year-old great-great-great granddaughter of Ralph Waldo Emerson--mother to two young boys, wife of 16 years--after her terminal cancer diagnosis"--
If you could leave your true love one final gift, what would it be? This intense, moment-by-moment chronicle begins with the officer's words, "She is deceased." For the next thirteen days following the fatal automobile accident of his wife, renowned thought-leader Dr. Seana Lowe Steffen, the author draws on nearly forty years of study and training with gurus and meditation teachers to discover ecstatic love, save fractured relationships, and glimpse a greater arc and purpose for being alive. The Final Gift of the Beloved: Her Disappearance--13 Days is the story of one man's sudden, astonishing brush with devastation and the Divine under the most heartbreaking of circumstances. A love story disguised as a tragedy, Steffen weaves extraordinarily poignant and powerful experiences with honesty and revelations that will change lives. Along with intense pain and emotion, prepare yourself for great beauty and transcendent insight, for nothing is as it appears.
By the winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature Abbas has never told anyone about his past; about what happened before he was a sailor on the high seas, before he met his wife Maryam outside a Boots in Exeter, before they settled into a quiet life in Norwich with their children, Jamal and Hanna. Now, at the age of sixty-three, he suffers a collapse that renders him bedbound and unable to speak about things he thought he would one day have to. Jamal and Hanna have grown up and gone out into the world. They were both born in England but cannot shake a sense of apartness. Hanna calls herself Anna now, and has just moved to a new city to be near her boyfriend. She feels the relationship is headed somewhere serious, but the words have not yet been spoken out loud. Jamal, the listener of the family, moves into a student house and is captivated by a young woman with dark-blue eyes and her own, complex story to tell. Abbas's illness forces both children home, to the dark silences of their father and the fretful capability of their mother Maryam, who began life as a foundling and has never thought to find herself, until now. ________________________ 'Gurnah is a master storyteller' FINANCIAL TIMES 'Gurnah writes with wonderful insight about family relationships and he folds in the layers of history with elegance and warmth' THE TIMES
Winner of 5 national awards including the Mom’s Choice Award, The Legacy Letters is an inspirational bestseller that the The Huffington Post calls, "A Must-Read Book of Wisdom for Life...exquisite, intimate, passionate, humorous, and genuine..." “Live Life to the Fullest” becomes a father’s passionate plea to his family throughout the letters—and to all of us desiring to live the same way. Woman’s World Magazine writes, “This inspirational classic is the perfect comfort book for people hungry to find meaning in their lives.” The Legacy Letters—In a race against time and separated from his loved ones through tragic circumstances, a dying father discloses to us his most intimate and hopeful thoughts about life and love through private letters to his wife and his children. Ultimately revealed within the letters is the father’s extraordinary emotional and spiritual journey. In his race with death, writing with inspired clarity and passion, the father transforms his words of self-discovery and wisdom, interwoven between deeply moving personal stories and poignantly-told memories, into the practical, moral, and spiritual guidebook for his children he’d never live to see, and for his wife, his redemptive act of love. The Legacy Letters, though fictional, has also won acclaim as a life lessons book for all ages, gaining the distinction of being the only book in publishing history to win awards in both fiction and non-fiction categories. Combining the best elements of such popular bestsellers as Tuesdays with Morrie, The Last Lecture, and Chicken Soup for the Soul, author Carew Papritz creates with his award winning book, The Legacy Letters, a timeless gift, filled with a hopeful, positive, and powerful message for all generations . . . . . . for all parents and children of any age; for spiritual seekers and the perpetually curious; for lovers of the written word and lovers of the passionate heart . . . . . . for all those who long to be reconnected with universally important values that keep our hopes alive, defends our big dreams and our belief that we can reach them, and gives us the courage we need to change our own lives . . . The Legacy Letters is for you . . .
In the latest body of work by author and photographer Claiborne Swanson Frank, the artist set out to explore what modern motherhood means in the 21st century. Turning her lens on 70 iconic families of mothers and children from such celebrated names as Delfina Figueras, Carolina Herrera, Lauren Santo Domingo, Anne Vyalitsyna, Aerin Lauder, and Patti Hansen, Swanson Frank’s stunning portraits capture the emotional bonds and beauty that frame the primal relationship of a mother and her child. Complementing her work is a series of questions-and-answers, in which Swanson Frank delicately tasks each mother to look within themselves and express what being a mother truly means to them. Their answers, while exceedingly thoughtful and introspective, are also amusing, fascinating, and moving. Each one of these deeply intimate and stunning portraits will captivate and inspire readers as they embark on this profound journey that reminds us all of the power of motherhood and the great gift of love.
