What people are saying about "Navigating Life’s Final Journey"...
"Your presentations at the Kearsarge Council on Aging some months ago were very meaningful and I wanted to thank you for your book and what you taught me. My wife died on September 7th, Her process went just as you described in Chapter 9. She went to a nursing home, after a fall which resulted in several small fractures in her pelvis. She participated in rehab for about a week then they recommended that rehab be stopped as it became obvious that she was beginning to shut down. Both my daughter and I were with her when she died. I cannot say enough about how wonderful and caring the staff at the home were during this time.
I will be eternally grateful for the lessons I learned from you and your book."
-Jim
"I was finally able to get to Morgan Bookstore to purchase your book. Oh, Pat! You have offered such a gift to those who get to read it! It is one of the best patient education publications I have ever read.
You write beautifully, offering the reader a clear explanation of the processes of dying and the options that are available to make that transition with as much comfort and ease as possible.
It is so informative!
I can’t believe I had never heard of POLST! My husband and I have Living Wills and Health Care Proxies, but not POLST. I will look further into this. Thank you."
"I’m not much on reviews but for this book I gladly make an exception. "Navigating Life’s Final Journey" - don’t just read it, re-read it, consume it - keep a copy on-hand to enlighten someone else. The author has an incredible skillset and vast experience on topics that we will all be faced with and typically ignore until we are in crisis. This book provides loving, professional guidance on difficult topics. Sometimes we don’t know how much we don’t know - reading this book is enlightening and empowering. My comments may sound like an advertisement, but this is really a testimonial based on my personal experience in the passing of my Parents. The information Pat presents in this book helped my family in so many ways. I will be getting a copy for all three of my adult children, so they are better prepared when my days grow short. What a valuable resource! Thank you, Pat O’Connor for sharing your calling with everyone."
"Navigating Life’s Final Journey is a well written book about preparing to face life’s final journey. Pat writes from years of personal experience in the field of palliative care. She stresses the importance of communication and decision -making by family members. The real-life stories she shares stress the point that there comes a time in life when exit can be welcome. Things that need to be discussed and planned for are covered in detail with many options explained. Death does not always need to be prolonged when the person passing is struggling to an uncomfortable lifestyle that makes everything difficult and unnecessary for all involved. The book is full of helpful, thought-provoking stories and helpful information. Take time to read it and share ideas with your family and friends who have loved ones with Heaven in sight."
"A must read for healthcare professionals and those wanting to take control of
end-of-life decisions for themselves and their families.
As a retired nurse leader, I have found this to be an often overlooked topic that has
made the healthcare system challenging and painful to navigate for many patients
and families during the final stage of life. This book is easy to read and understand: a
wonderful resource with heartfelt illustrative stories."
-Cynthia A. Coughlin, MS, BSN, Retired Senior Vice President of Patient Care/
Recipient of President’s Award NH Hospital Association
(back)
"Pat O’Connor has written a ’must read’ book full of compassion, understanding,
and helpful suggestions as we face the reality of end of life with dignity and peace.
She shares her experience as a board-certified nurse practitioner with a specialty in
hospice/palliative care offering short stories of patients and practical ways in which
they were helped. This book should be in every doctor’s office, senior living
complex,
and nursing home, as a help for both patients and family members in understanding
the importance of asking questions and listening for the answers as decisions are
made for end-of-life care. She offers a pathway of stones to follow, one step at a
time,
through the ups and downs of this difficult journey. Resources, including a
glossary,
are included. I speak with personal experience of Pat’s care, and all that she offers
in
this book as she helped me through my husband’s final journey."
-
Marjorie Burke, author of the Melting Ice ~Shifting Sand
trilogy on Alzheimer’s disease
(back)
"When you or your loved one are nearing the end of life, how do you discuss
death with your health care providers? How do you even think about it?
What are your rights and resources to dictate the extent of medical intervention
you will incur, and how will that be provided? Navigating Life’s Final Journey is
a straightforward review of a topic many hesitate to explore, a workbook of real-
life, practical tools to help make this important subject more accessible and
less intimidating for you.
In her book, Pat O’Connor brings her twenty-five years of professional
experience as an Advanced Practice Nurse Practitioner specializing in
Primary Care as well as Hospice and Palliative Care to utility. Pat’s warmth and
compassion shine as she gives real-life, detailed examples of the patients with
whom she has traveled this journey. Her passionate advocacy for the rights and
individuation of her patients is a credit to her and invaluable to those health care
professionals fortunate to have worked with her."
"When faced with a serious or terminal illness, what questions would you
ask? Pat has years of experience with patients and uses real
conversations to distill important points. This offering will not
disappoint in informing, guiding, reassuring, and bringing hope in
choices to live ’the final stage of life in your own way."
-Reverend Sharon A. Piantedosi, RN, MDiv,
Certified in Palliative Care and Hospice Spiritual Care
(back)
"Truth-Telling from Pat O’Connor:
These pages of ’truth-telling’ are long overdue . . . Pat
O’Connor’s stories depict scenarios occurring hundreds (if
not thousands) of times per day across our country penned
into ten loving chapters. Her professional life experiences
are shared in such a way that all of us will benefit from this
’must read’ guide to life’s final chapters. I am humbled to
call Pat a respected colleague and friend."
-Stephen T. Rust, MD, FACP, FAAHPM Board Certified
IM-Geriatrics-HPM
(back)
"I have read "Navigating Life’s Final Journey" I want to fill this page with exclamation marks!! Your amazing book stands out for me as unique in all the books and pamphlets I have read that intend to help the average person with this part of the Journey. And I have reviewed a whole bunch of them in the process of developing the programs we offer here in Rossmoor with the End-of-Life Concerns Club. You address just the very dilemmas that come up all the time in our work here. Your process in the book - giving examples of common situations, encouraging important conversations, covering resources, outlining choices, and then explaining the documents - all in language that never talks ’down’ but is clear and understandable - is absolutely excellent."
"I got the book and I already read it. It’s amazing! I hope you find a way to get your book into the hands of every person who has, or cares for someone with a terminal illness. So well written and informative."
"I read the book and learned so much. Hank and I wish we had it when Hank’s father was alive (he died in 2017 at 97 years old). We would have done some things differently to make it easier for him but we thought medical care would have been withheld if we didn’t go to every Dr. appt.
What people are saying about "Navigating Life’s Final Journey"...