The Last Ten Days Academia Dementia And The Choice To Die

Download The Last Ten Days Academia Dementia And The Choice To Die full books in PDF, epub, and Kindle. Read online The Last Ten Days Academia Dementia And The Choice To Die ebook anywhere anytime directly on your device. Fast Download speed and no annoying ads. We cannot guarantee that every ebooks is available!

The Last Ten Days - Academia, Dementia, and the Choice to Die

Author : Martha Risberg Brosio
Publisher : Myers Education Press
ISBN 13 : 1975501837
Total Pages : 234 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (755 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Last Ten Days - Academia, Dementia, and the Choice to Die by : Martha Risberg Brosio

Download or read book The Last Ten Days - Academia, Dementia, and the Choice to Die written by Martha Risberg Brosio and published by Myers Education Press. This book was released on 2019-06-25 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Last Ten Days addresses the concerns of loved ones and caregivers, providing them not only with information but also acknowledging the sadness and frustration, the heartache and bittersweet memories experienced during this painful time. To these readers, the book says, “You are not alone.” The Last Ten Days: Academia, Dementia, and the Choice to Die is a heartrending memoir of love, scholarship, dignity, courage, and the choices one is forced to make when given the devastating diagnosis of a terminal illness. Spanning sixty years, this extraordinary book recounts the love story of Martha Risberg Brosio and her husband, Richard Brosio, Ph.D., a brilliant scholar and college professor whose communication skills dazzled all with whom he came in contact. Teenage sweethearts who went their separate ways after high school, Martha and Richard reconnected twenty-six years later over a friendly dinner that sparked into passionate love. They married in 1983, enjoying a vibrant life. Then tragedy struck. In late 2013, Richard was diagnosed with Primary Progressive Aphasia, a type of dementia similar to Alzheimer’s that affects the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. The disease impacted Richard’s ability to communicate. Eventually, he would lose his verbal and processing skills. There was no cure. Determined to have a dignified death at the time and in the manner of his own choosing, Richard hastened his death two years after his diagnosis by voluntarily stopping eating and drinking, seeking only palliative and hospice care until the end. Reminiscent of Still Alice, The Notebook, Tuesdays with Morrie, and When Breath Becomes Air, The Last Ten Days grabs the heartstrings and gives a mighty tug.

Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking

Author : Timothy E. Quill
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0190080760
Total Pages : 313 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (9 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking by : Timothy E. Quill

Download or read book Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking written by Timothy E. Quill and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021-07-27 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the 21st century, people in the developed world are living longer. They hope they will have a healthy longer life and then die relatively quickly and peacefully. But frequently that does not happen. While people are living healthy a little longer, they tend to live sick for a lot longer. And at the end of being sick before dying, they and their families are frequently faced with daunting decisions about whether to continue life prolonging medical treatments or whether to find meaningful and forthright ways to die more easily and quickly. In this context, some people are searching for more and better options to hasten death. They may be experiencing unacceptable suffering in the present or may fear it in the near future. But they do not know the full range of options legally available to them. Voluntary stopping eating and drinking (VSED), though relatively unknown and poorly understood, is a widely available option for hastening death. VSED is legally permitted in places where medical assistance in dying (MAID) is not. And unlike U.S. jurisdictions where MAID is legally permitted, VSED is not limited to terminal illness or to those with current decision-making capacity. VSED is a compassionate option that respects patient choice. Despite its strongly misleading image of starvation, death by VSED is typically peaceful and meaningful when accompanied by adequate clinician and/or caregiver support. Moreover, the practice is not limited to avoiding unbearable suffering, but may also be used by those who are determined to avoid living with unacceptable deterioration such as severe dementia. But VSED is "not for everyone." This volume provides a realistic, appropriately critical, yet supportive assessment of the practice. Eight illustrative, previously unpublished real cases are included, receiving pragmatic analysis in each chapter. The volume's integrated, multi-professional, multi-disciplinary character makes it useful for a wide range of readers: patients considering present or future end-of-life options and their families, clinicians of all kinds, ethicists, lawyers, and institutional administrators. Appendices include recommended elements of an advance directive for stopping eating and drinking in one's future if and when decision making capacity is lost, and what to record as cause of death on the death certificates of those who hasten death by VSED.

Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking

Author : Timothy E. Quill
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0190080736
Total Pages : 313 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (9 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking by : Timothy E. Quill

Download or read book Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking written by Timothy E. Quill and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many people who are experiencing unacceptable suffering or deterioration in the present, or who fear them in the near future, do not know their full range of options to hasten death. This is particularly true if they live in jurisdictions that do not allow a physician assisted death - over forty jurisdictions in the U.S. and most countries across the world. Though VSED is readily available, and not illegal, most people are unaware of it as an option. The informationin this book is vital to those considering their options either hypothetically or in real time, providing an integrated, balanced, and nuanced exploration of VSED with contributions from legal, medical, and ethical experts.

The Inevitable

Author : Katie Engelhart
Publisher : St. Martin's Press
ISBN 13 : 1250201470
Total Pages : 283 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (52 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Inevitable by : Katie Engelhart

Download or read book The Inevitable written by Katie Engelhart and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2021-03-02 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A remarkably nuanced, empathetic, and well-crafted work of journalism, [The Inevitable] explores what might be called the right-to-die underground, a world of people who wonder why a medical system that can do so much to try to extend their lives can do so little to help them end those lives in a peaceful and painless way.”—Brooke Jarvis, The New Yorker More states and countries are passing right-to-die laws that allow the sick and suffering to end their lives at pre-planned moments, with the help of physicians. But even where these laws exist, they leave many people behind. The Inevitable moves beyond margins of the law to the people who are meticulously planning their final hours—far from medical offices, legislative chambers, hospital ethics committees, and polite conversation. It also shines a light on the people who help them: loved ones and, sometimes, clandestine groups on the Internet that together form the “euthanasia underground.” Katie Engelhart, a veteran journalist, focuses on six people representing different aspects of the right to die debate. Two are doctors: a California physician who runs a boutique assisted death clinic and has written more lethal prescriptions than anyone else in the U.S.; an Australian named Philip Nitschke who lost his medical license for teaching people how to end their lives painlessly and peacefully at “DIY Death” workshops. The other four chapters belong to people who said they wanted to die because they were suffering unbearably—of old age, chronic illness, dementia, and mental anguish—and saw suicide as their only option. Spanning North America, Europe, and Australia, The Inevitable offers a deeply reported and fearless look at a morally tangled subject. It introduces readers to ordinary people who are fighting to find dignity and authenticity in the final hours of their lives.

A Better Way of Dying

Author : Jeanne Fitzpatrick
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 1101195606
Total Pages : 175 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (11 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis A Better Way of Dying by : Jeanne Fitzpatrick

Download or read book A Better Way of Dying written by Jeanne Fitzpatrick and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2010-01-26 with total page 175 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fail-safe plan for ensuring one's final wishes are respected Advanced directives and living wills have improved our ability to dictate end-of-life care, but even these cannot guarantee that we will be allowed the dignity of a natural death. Designed by two sisters-one a doctor, one a lawyer-and drawing on their decades of experience, the five-step Compassion Protocol outlined in A Better Way of Dying offers a simple and effective framework for leaving caretakers concrete, unambiguous, and legally binding instructions about your wishes for your last days. Meant for people in every walk of life-from the elderly, to those in the early stages of mentally degenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, to healthy young people planning for an unpredictable future-this book creates space for a discussion we all must have if we wish to ensure comfort and control at the end of our lives..

Dementia Reimagined

Author : Tia Powell
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 0735210918
Total Pages : 322 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (352 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Dementia Reimagined by : Tia Powell

Download or read book Dementia Reimagined written by Tia Powell and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2020-09-01 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now in paperback, the cultural and medical history of dementia and Alzheimer's disease by a leading psychiatrist and bioethicist who urges us to turn our focus from cure to care. Despite being a physician and a bioethicist, Tia Powell wasn't prepared to address the challenges she faced when her grandmother, and then her mother, were diagnosed with dementia--not to mention confronting the hard truth that her own odds aren't great. In the U.S., 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 every day; by the time a person reaches 85, their chances of having dementia approach 50 percent. And the truth is, there is no cure, and none coming soon, despite the perpetual promises by pharmaceutical companies that they are just one more expensive study away from a pill. Dr. Powell's goal is to move the conversation away from an exclusive focus on cure to a genuine appreciation of care--what we can do for those who have dementia, and how to keep life meaningful and even joyful. Reimagining Dementia is a moving combination of medicine and memoir, peeling back the untold history of dementia, from the story of Solomon Fuller, a black doctor whose research at the turn of the twentieth century anticipated important aspects of what we know about dementia today, to what has been gained and lost with the recent bonanza of funding for Alzheimer's at the expense of other forms of the disease. In demystifying dementia, Dr. Powell helps us understand it with clearer eyes, from the point of view of both physician and caregiver. Ultimately, she wants us all to know that dementia is not only about loss--it's also about the preservation of dignity and hope.

Physician-Assisted Death

Author : James M. Humber
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 1592594484
Total Pages : 159 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (925 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Physician-Assisted Death by : James M. Humber

Download or read book Physician-Assisted Death written by James M. Humber and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 1994-02-04 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Physician-Assisted Death is the eleventh volume of Biomedical Ethics Reviews. We, the editors, are pleased with the response to the series over the years and, as a result, are happy to continue into a second decade with the same general purpose and zeal. As in the past, contributors to projected volumes have been asked to summarize the nature of the literature, the prevailing attitudes and arguments, and then to advance the discussion in some way by staking out and arguing forcefully for some basic position on the topic targeted for discussion. For the present volume on Physician-Assisted Death, we felt it wise to enlist the services of a guest editor, Dr. Gregg A. Kasting, a practicing physician with extensive clinical knowledge of the various problems and issues encountered in discussing physician assisted death. Dr. Kasting is also our student and just completing a graduate degree in philosophy with a specialty in biomedical ethics here at Georgia State University. Apart from a keen interest in the topic, Dr. Kasting has published good work in the area and has, in our opinion, done an excellent job in taking on the lion's share of editing this well-balanced and probing set of essays. We hope you will agree that this volume significantly advances the level of discussion on physician-assisted euthanasia. Incidentally, we wish to note that the essays in this volume were all finished and committed to press by January 1993.

Dementia Studies

Author : Anthea Innes
Publisher : SAGE
ISBN 13 : 0857026658
Total Pages : 209 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (57 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Dementia Studies by : Anthea Innes

Download or read book Dementia Studies written by Anthea Innes and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2009-03-05 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is dementia? How should we organize dementia care? This comprehensive book critically examines the main approaches to understanding dementia (bio-medical, social-psychological and socio-gerontological) and the main principles and ideologies of care. The book: • provides clarity on the gap between the utopian aspirations of care and the reality of care • opens up a series of questions about knowledge and treatment of dementia • argues for a transition from positions that place emphasis upon the individual or particular care services to the social, cultural and economic context Lively, informative and challenging, the book will be of interest to students of nursing, sociology of health & illness, social work and social gerontology. Anthea Innes teaches at the Dementia Services Development Centre, University of Stirling

The Day I Die

Author : Anita Hannig
Publisher : Sourcebooks
ISBN 13 : 9781728244914
Total Pages : 320 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (449 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Day I Die by : Anita Hannig

Download or read book The Day I Die written by Anita Hannig and published by Sourcebooks. This book was released on 2022 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Day I Die is a major work of nonfiction that tackles the one issue we'll all eventually come to face-our final days, hours, and minutes. With clarity and empathy, award-winning anthropologist Anita Hannig uncovers the stigma against the practice of assisted dying, untangles the legalities and logistics of pursuing an assisted death in America today, and profiles the dedicated advocates and medical personnel involved. In intimate, lyrical detail, Hannig explains why someone might choose an assisted death and how that decision impacts their loved ones. In a time when nearly 80 percent of Americans die in hospitals and nursing homes, medical assistance in dying could transform the way we die for the better, allowing more people to define the terms of their own death"--

In Death's Waiting Room

Author : Anne-Mei The
Publisher : Amsterdam University Press
ISBN 13 : 9053560777
Total Pages : 204 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (535 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis In Death's Waiting Room by : Anne-Mei The

Download or read book In Death's Waiting Room written by Anne-Mei The and published by Amsterdam University Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nederland telt op dit moment 250.000 dementerenden en hun aantal neemt toe. Ooit treft wellicht onze ouders, onze geliefden of onszelf dit lot. Anne-Mei The werkte als onderzoeker twee jaar in een verpleeghuis. Zij onthult wat meestal verborgen blijft: de beslissing om te stoppen met behandelen. De armoede en voodoo-rituelen van de gekleurde verzorgenden. Problemen die kunnen optreden met de familie. Spanningen, agressie en seks op de afdeling. Maar ze maakt ons ook deelgenoot van ontroerende en hilarische taferelen. Daarnaast ontrafelt The 'de zaak 't Blauwbörgje' die in de jaren negentig in het nieuws kwam. De familie van een diep demente man beschuldigde het verpleeghuis van poging tot moord. Wat ging er mis? En kan zoiets weer gebeuren? Het boek leest als een roman en zet eenieder aan het denken over de invulling van zijn of haar eigen levenseinde in het geval van dementie.

Six Steps to Managing Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia

Author : Andrew E. Budson MD
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0190098147
Total Pages : 353 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (9 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Six Steps to Managing Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia by : Andrew E. Budson MD

Download or read book Six Steps to Managing Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia written by Andrew E. Budson MD and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021-08-23 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Your needs as a caregiver are just as important as those your family member with Alzheimer's Disease or dementia. This book will provide just the insight and guidance you need. Caregiving for a loved one with Alzheimer's disease or dementia is hard. It's hard whether you're caring for your spouse, parent, grandparent, sibling, other family member, or friend. Even if you had an extra ten hours each day to do it, it's hard to manage all the problems that come with dementia. And caring for a loved one with dementia can sometimes feel like a long, lonely journey. Six Steps to Managing Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia can help, addressing concerns such as: · Is the problem Alzheimer's, dementia, or something else? · How do you approach problems in dementia? · How do you manage problems with memory, language, and vision? · How do you cope with emotional and behavioral problems? · What are the best ways to manage troubles with sleep and incontinence? · Which medications can help? · Which medications can actually make things worse? · How do you build your care team? · Why is it important to care for yourself? · How do you sustain your relationship with your loved one? · How do you plan for the progression of dementia? · How do you plan for the end and beyond? Six Steps to Managing Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia is comprehensive yet written in an easy-to-read style, featuring clinical vignettes and character-based stories that provide real-life examples of how to successfully manage Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

Reducing the Impact of Dementia in America

Author : National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780309495035
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (95 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Reducing the Impact of Dementia in America by : National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine

Download or read book Reducing the Impact of Dementia in America written by National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine and published by . This book was released on 2022-04-26 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the largest generation in U.S. history - the population born in the two decades immediately following World War II - enters the age of risk for cognitive impairment, growing numbers of people will experience dementia (including Alzheimer's disease and related dementias). By one estimate, nearly 14 million people in the United States will be living with dementia by 2060. Like other hardships, the experience of living with dementia can bring unexpected moments of intimacy, growth, and compassion, but these diseases also affect people's capacity to work and carry out other activities and alter their relationships with loved ones, friends, and coworkers. Those who live with and care for individuals experiencing these diseases face challenges that include physical and emotional stress, difficult changes and losses in their relationships with life partners, loss of income, and interrupted connections to other activities and friends. From a societal perspective, these diseases place substantial demands on communities and on the institutions and government entities that support people living with dementia and their families, including the health care system, the providers of direct care, and others. Nevertheless, research in the social and behavioral sciences points to possibilities for preventing or slowing the development of dementia and for substantially reducing its social and economic impacts. At the request of the National Institute on Aging of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Reducing the Impact of Dementia in America assesses the contributions of research in the social and behavioral sciences and identifies a research agenda for the coming decade. This report offers a blueprint for the next decade of behavioral and social science research to reduce the negative impact of dementia for America's diverse population. Reducing the Impact of Dementia in America calls for research that addresses the causes and solutions for disparities in both developing dementia and receiving adequate treatment and support. It calls for research that sets goals meaningful not just for scientists but for people living with dementia and those who support them as well. By 2030, an estimated 8.5 million Americans will have Alzheimer's disease and many more will have other forms of dementia. Through identifying priorities social and behavioral science research and recommending ways in which they can be pursued in a coordinated fashion, Reducing the Impact of Dementia in America will help produce research that improves the lives of all those affected by dementia.

No One Has to Die Alone

Author : Lani Leary
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1582703523
Total Pages : 274 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (827 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis No One Has to Die Alone by : Lani Leary

Download or read book No One Has to Die Alone written by Lani Leary and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-04-10 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "No One Dies Alone" offers accessible insights, practical tools, and personal stories to provide a sense of community, profound relief, and deep meaning for both caregiver and patient through illness, death, and bereavement.

Decision Making Near the End of Life

Author : James L. Werth Jr.
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1135918848
Total Pages : 417 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (359 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Decision Making Near the End of Life by : James L. Werth Jr.

Download or read book Decision Making Near the End of Life written by James L. Werth Jr. and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2008-10-20 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Decision Making near the End of Life provides a comprehensive overview of the recent developments that have impacted decision-making processes within the field of end-of-life care. The most current developments in all aspects of major underlying issues such as public attitudes, the impact of media, bioethics, and legal precedent provide the background information for the text. The authors examine various aspects of end-of-life choices and decision-making, including communication (between and among family, medical personnel, the dying person), advance directives, and the emergence of hospice and palliative care institutions. The book also explores a variety of psychosocial considerations that arise in decision-making, including religion/spirituality, family caregiving, disenfranchised and diverse groups, and the psychological and psychiatric problems that can impact both the dying person and loved ones. Case studies and first-person stories about decision-making, written by professionals in the field, bring a uniquely personal touch to this valuable text.

Still Alice

Author : Lisa Genova
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1849833710
Total Pages : 376 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (498 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Still Alice by : Lisa Genova

Download or read book Still Alice written by Lisa Genova and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2010-08-05 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A moving story of a woman with early onset Alzheimer's disease, now a major Academy Award-winning film starring Julianne Moore and Kristen Stewart. Alice Howland is proud of the life she worked so hard to build. At fifty, she's a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard and a renowned expert in linguistics, with a successful husband and three grown children. When she begins to grow forgetful and disoriented, she dismisses it for as long as she can until a tragic diagnosis changes her life - and her relationship with her family and the world around her - for ever. Unable to care for herself, Alice struggles to find meaning and purpose as her concept of self gradually slips away. But Alice is a remarkable woman, and her family learn more about her and each other in their quest to hold on to the Alice they know. Her memory hanging by a frayed thread, she is living in the moment, living for each day. But she is still Alice. 'Remarkable … illuminating … highly relevant today' Daily Mail 'The most accurate account of what it feels like to be inside the mind of an Alzheimer's patient I've ever read. Beautifully written and very illuminating' Rosie Boycot 'Utterly brilliant' Chrissy Iley

Families Caring for an Aging America

Author : National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309448069
Total Pages : 367 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (94 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Families Caring for an Aging America by : National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Download or read book Families Caring for an Aging America written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2016-12-08 with total page 367 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Family caregiving affects millions of Americans every day, in all walks of life. At least 17.7 million individuals in the United States are caregivers of an older adult with a health or functional limitation. The nation's family caregivers provide the lion's share of long-term care for our older adult population. They are also central to older adults' access to and receipt of health care and community-based social services. Yet the need to recognize and support caregivers is among the least appreciated challenges facing the aging U.S. population. Families Caring for an Aging America examines the prevalence and nature of family caregiving of older adults and the available evidence on the effectiveness of programs, supports, and other interventions designed to support family caregivers. This report also assesses and recommends policies to address the needs of family caregivers and to minimize the barriers that they encounter in trying to meet the needs of older adults.

Last Acts

Author : David J. Casarett,
Publisher : Simon & Schuster
ISBN 13 : 9781416580379
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (83 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Last Acts by : David J. Casarett,

Download or read book Last Acts written by David J. Casarett, and published by Simon & Schuster. This book was released on 2010-01-12 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What would you do if you had only a few days to live? Or a few weeks or months? What if a loved one were in this situation -- how could you help that person decide how to spend the time that remained? Perhaps you lost a family member or dear friend to a terminal illness and were baffled by that person's choices. How do you make sense of his or her last acts? Dr. David Casarett, a palliative care physician and researcher, specializes in the care of patients near the end of life. Drawing on his years of experience and the stories of patients he has treated, as well as his own research, he explores the wide variety of ways in which people spend their last days. Why do some people choose to be altruistic, while others are vengeful? Why do some leave a legacy, while others prefer to celebrate and enjoy their time with family and friends? Why do some fight and struggle to the last minute, while others accept their fate and use their limited time to reconnect or reconcile? The tremendous diversity of these last acts makes clear that there is no formula for dying well or choices that are right for everyone. At the same time, these stories reveal that some choices may be harmful to the dying person or those closest to him. Last Acts helps dying patients and their families think about the possibilities that exist at the end of life, so they may choose to spend their time in ways that help bring them peace of mind.