Foreword by Jonathan Dimbleby, Chair of Dimbleby Cancer Care. Introduction, Eve Richardson, Chief Executive, Dying Matters Coalition and the National Council for Palliative Care. Leave-taking, Helen Barnes. The Night Shift That Changed Me, Alexandra Obee. Swan, Brenda Read-Brown. Ava's Lovers, Claire Jones. The Milkman Cried, Josephine Howard. Journey's End, Sue Moorhouse. Hypocrisy, Sali Gray. An Ordinary Day, Kylie Joyce. Google Maps Saved My Life, Anneliese Mackintosh. Beneath The Bracken, Janette Ayachi. Coat Hanger, Adam Lound. Chubby Little Cheeks, Sarah Bakewell. Names Have Been Changed, Carole Mansur. Let Winter Come, Nick Jarvis. A Life Ascending, John Hunt. Polly Dolly, Maureen Gallagher. A Matter Of Compassion, Alva de Chiro. Enhancing Dementia Recipe, Janet Willoughby. The Patient That Changed Me, Faye Gishen. Regrets, Hope Uchio. A Dose Of Reality, Caroline Sposto. Closing Scenes, Gráinne Tobin. An Honourable Life, Christopher Owen. Of Glass, of Light, of Silver, Kit de Waal. The Mother Thief, Alison Wassell. The Grief Schism, David Mohan. Spoons, Pete Buckingham. The Waiting Room, Harriet Davies. Papier Maché Doll, Amanda Bowden. Baseball Cards, Leissa Shahrak. About the Authors.
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'A collection such as this is bound to be very moving and sympathetic: the subject makes it inevitable. But the pieces in this collection are much more than cries of grief. For all their sadness, they are also brave, resolute, clever, and sometimes even funny. This means the book has a kind of stoic nobility, as well as a warm humanity. It's a very powerful combination.'- Sir Andrew Motion, former Poet Laureate'This is a collection of 30 stories and poems from a competition run by the Dying Matters Coalition, an organisation set up in 2009 by The National Council for Palliative Care to help transform public attitudes towards death, dying and bereavement.I liked the stories in this book; given the subject, enjoy' is perhaps not the right word. The first thing that struck me was the quality of the writing and, on reviewing the biographical sketches at the end of the book, I note that a number of the authors were not novices with the pen. The differing styles and approaches to the subject are welcome. I can happily recommend this book to anyone who works in palliative care, who I think will be interested to read how others see what we see every day.'' - Roger Woodruff (April 2014)