Exploring End-of-Life Choices: Seeking a Compassionate Path to the End

Kathy: I am currently a Hospice patient. Have read over 30 books on end of life issues and this is one of the best.. I also happen to be. a retired physician.

Of all the books I read, this author truly gets both sides of making a decision to enter hospice. Book would be helpful for the patient a well as for loved ones and caregivers. Also excellent for the medical profession as a whole.

Highly recommended. Author is physician herself and understands when to call it quits.

Author is a go--getter and quite revealing of some of her own mis-calls.

Well worth reading.

United States on Apr 09, 2023

Catherine M. Stewart: I wish there was a way for everyone facing death—and we all will—to be cared for by a doctor as compassionate and caring, authentic and forthright as Dr. Zitter. I truly hope that her vision for quality of life at the end transforms our medicalized prolongation of life for its own sake. Not only is it economically unsustainable but it inflicts unnecessary suffering, separation, and isolation on patients and their loved ones. By bravely helping gravely I’ll patients and their families understand their condition and options, she gives them the gift of choosing to live the best life they can to the end. Her courage in the face of intense pressure from her profession is astonishing. Thank you, Dr. Zitter.

United States on Dec 13, 2022

C. Davis: I am firmly in the `do not resuscitate' camp and would hate to spend years hooked up to machines, unable to speak or move or participate in life at even a basic level. This books highlights the fact that, if you don't clearly leave a directive, doctors are obliged to keep you alive even if you can no longer achieve anything. This is an American book so the legal information at the end is inapplicable to the UK. As such, I will investigate how to leave a directive with my medical notes so that I am not kept alive artificially when my body is ready to give up!

United Kingdom on Sep 16, 2021

H. W. TaeuschH. W. Taeusch: Who'd want to die in an ICU? Not many of us. Dr. Zitter is a rare hybrid--an ICU physician also trained in palliative care for dying patients. Some say this is an oxymoron she writes. In a well-written book, she's chosen cases that illustrate, case by case, the the incredible variety of things that can get screwed up by the innate avoidance by all of us, patients and medical staff, who avoid talking about death, especially at times when the subject must be talked about. And she shows, not tells, us how to go about these situations, not only in general, but also in all of the specifics.

This book is accessible, interesting, dramatic, really not macabre, and espouses the notion that death is an inevitable part of all of our lives. Obvious, but the cases illustrate the extraordinary effort we use to avoid the obvious. That brings to mind another book on the subject with a great title, A Beginner's Guide to the End. We beginners thank you, Dr. Z.

United States on Aug 15, 2021

Suzel Brunel: L'auteur, médecin spécialiste en médecine de fin de vie, décrit avec intelligence, empathie et sensibilité les coulisses de cet univers de spécialistes qui se soucient davantage de leur propre image que du bien-être de leurs patients mourants, confus, hésitants. Un excellent ouvrage pour tous ceux et celles qui vivent avec ces questions si délicates.

Canada on Jan 03, 2020

AM: A must read by everyone; know what the typical medical practices are at the end of life and what you or your loved one would want done; my preference is a comfortable natural death; not in the ICU at the hospital; but you need to know how to handle it for yourself (tell your loved ones) or for your loved one (share with your family to get concensus).

Canada on Sep 29, 2017

Null: I had placed this book on my wish list. I was sure I should read it. I was not sure I wanted to read it. Without divulging my own history, allow me to say that I am a lifelong skeptic in so far as the value of medical treatment for any but the most common human conditions. At the same time I have the highest respect for the sacrifices made by nurses and physicians. In the end, I clicked on the wrong button and ended up with a complete copy in my Kindle.

The first time I attempted to read it the early history of author and ancestors caused buyers remorse. The second time I started with chapter 2 and was immediately engrossed. That was because it validated nearly all my firmly held convictions about just how badly so many people end their lives in the ICU. Please consider that living in Brazil and traveling in much of latin america opened my eyes to pain, suffering, and death many years ago. Inflicting it in the ICU seems much worse, however.

My parents are deceased. In the ten years following the death of one, management of death had improved remarkably for the other. With the passage of death with dignity here in Colorado, I see a glimmer of hope that death may come...

United States on Sep 07, 2017

Ruth Freese: This book is excellent and informative. It's certainly made me consider issues about the end of life which I had not been aware of. I strongly urge anyone with a serious illness or with a relative with a serious illness to read it.

Canada on May 21, 2017

Arlie: Great, eye-opening book regarding end of life decisions. Prolonging life sometimes results in needless suffering.

Canada on May 15, 2017

Gidget's Mom: I am only giving 4 stars, because I almost stopped reading at the mention of George Soros. This is not a political subject, and I am still wondering why his inclusion was necessary. Otherwise, a very good book.

United States on Mar 11, 2017