While modern Americans strive to control nearly every aspect of their lives, many of us abandon control of life's final passage. But the realities of twenty-first-century medicine will allow most of us to have a say in how, when, and where we die, so we need to make decisions surrounding death, too. Or those decisions may be made for us. Threading compelling real-life stories and practical guidance throughout, this book helps readers navigate end-of-life care for themselves and their loved ones.
In this practical guidebook, Dr. Dan Morhaim and Shelley Morhaim offer readers hope, empowerment, and inspiration. What we choose for our end-of-life care, they assert, depends on accurate information and on our personal values. We need these not only to understand new medical advances but also to appreciate the wisdom of humanity's past and present.
Dan Morhaim, an emergency medicine physician and former Maryland state legislator, guides readers through the medical, legal, and financial maze of end-of-life care. He details the care choices available to patients and explains why living wills and advance directives are a necessity for every American. He tells readers where to find free and readily available living wills and advance directives and why it is so important for everyone'young and old'to complete them. Meanwhile, Shelley Morhaim draws on her experience as a therapeutic music practitioner for hospice and hospital patients to offer compassion to readers facing hard decisions.
The authors reflect on a number of timely topics, including
and more.
Organized as a roadmap that people should follow when they plan end-of-life care and contingencies, this book helps readers keep decisions in their own hands and spare their families the uncertainty and trauma of guessing about their end-of-life wishes. Breaking down the barriers to a difficult but essential topic, Preparing for a Better End helps readers open this often-avoided discussion with their loved ones while providing the information and guidance needed to ensure that deeply held values are reflected and honored.
Praise for the Author
""In The Better End, Dr. Morhaim helps the reader to see that while death does have its sting, it need not be bitter, and each of us can prepare for the end in better ways.""'Maya Angelou
""Dan Morhaim's message is a must read for anyone who is facing end-of-life crisis issues and concerns, whether it be for themselves or for a family member or loved one. When so many others shun away from the topic, Dan Morhaim addresses the situation with clarity, insight, and sensitivity.""'Montel Williams
""[Morhaim] cautions in The Better End, his excellent new book... if you don't plan your own end, somebody else will do it for you.""'Baltimore Sun
""This book will prepare readers to discuss this very important topic.""'Library Journal
""This book is very helpful if you are facing end of life issues for yourself or someone you love. The author has the unique ability to present complex, emotionally fraught information in a simple but not overly simplistic manner, willing to discuss some of the toughest things life and death throw our way.""'Bargain Books and Previews
""HFAM highly recommends providers and families pick up a copy of The Better End.""'HFAM (Health Facilities Association of Maryland) NewsLink
""No one understands this better than Dan Morhaim... After reading Morhaim's book, The Better End: Surviving (and Dying) on Your Own Terms in Today's Modern Medical World, you'll want to be sure you have a living will or advance directive[s] in place'for your own good, for your family's good and for your country's as well.''Huffington Post
""The Better End is a common-sense medical book written in layman's language by a doctor... Morhaim shows a nice bedside manner. He's a doctor gently guiding us through end-time, taking some of the mystery out of it, and trying to make it as painless as he possibly can.""'Baltimore Jewish Times
""For anyone facing end-of-life issues'and that's really everyone'it's a must-read.""'Monterey County Weekly
""By confronting the barriers to this difficult but essential topic, Dr. Morhaim offers readers hope, empowerment, dignity and control in managing medical crises and end-of-life care.""'Chironian
AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Why Not the Best of Both Worlds?1. My Dog Got Better Care than My Mother2. Taking Charge: Advance Directives and Choosing the Care You Want3. A Different Choice: Do Everything4. Cure vs. Healing: Palliative Care and Hospice5. Who do you Trust? Choosing your Health Care Agent6. It's Not Just About Old People: When Tragedy Strikes the Young7. No Easy Answers: Dementia, the System, and Getting it Right8. Assisted Suicide, Assisted Dying, VSED9. Pain, Anxiety, and Drugs, Drugs, Drugs10. What's Stopping Us11. Gifts of Life: Organ Donation, Funerals, and Cemeteries12. No Job is Complete until the Paperwork Is Done: Making it Legal13. Help, We Need Somebody: Providing Support14. The Better End: Surviving (and Dying) on Your Own Terms in Today's Modern Medical World15. Speaking PersonallyGlossaryResourcesIndex
