New hospice book helps families face end of life with less fear
As millions of Baby Boomers enter their later years, questions about caregiving, hospice and end-of-life wishes are becoming increasingly relevant to families across the country. The new book Dying Well with Hospice supplies practical information drawn from both a family member and a professional nurse to help readers prepare for these realities.
Paula Wrenn lived through her husband Jim’s two-year illness and six-month hospice journey. At the outset Jim feared death. Over time he reached a place of courage, peace and even joy. Before his death he asked Wrenn to share what the couple had learned so other families could approach the end of life with less fear and more time for what matters.
Wrenn invited Jim’s hospice nurse, Jo Gustely, to co-author the book. The resulting volume presents the same period from two viewpoints: the daily reality of accompanying a loved one and the clinical understanding of what occurs during the final phase of life.
“I was inspired watching him grow from a person worried about dying to someone facing end-of-life with courage and positivity,” Wrenn said. “Both of us credited his hospice experience with making his end of life meaningful, even joyful.”
The authors describe the natural sequence of physical changes that accompany dying, the range of support hospice teams provide to patients and families, and the value of beginning conversations about wishes before a crisis arrives. They directly address the common belief that enrolling in hospice equals surrender, showing instead how the service can maintain comfort and engagement with valued activities and relationships until the final days.
Family members who may later serve as caregivers receive concrete descriptions of the emotional and physical demands involved in daily support, along with reminders that such work can also produce meaningful connection.
“Caregiving for a loved one is challenging and stressful at times, but the rewards are immeasurable,” Wrenn said. The book aims to affirm the significance of the final stage of life and to help families recognize the spiritual and emotional growth that can occur while caring for someone nearing death.
Paula Wrenn spent more than twenty-five years as a freelance writer for businesses, newspapers and magazines, covering older adults, caregiving and hospice. Earlier she owned an elder-care business, volunteered with senior-service organizations and served as chairman of her local nonprofit healthcare center. She has guided several relatives through peaceful deaths.
Jo Gustely received her BSN from Emory University. Since 1985 she has practiced as a post-surgical nurse, home-care nurse, corporate occupational nurse and public-health nurse. She began hospice nursing in Northern California in 2005. Gustely has worked with patients from varied cultural backgrounds and has witnessed moments of psycho-spiritual renewal and family expressions of love during the final weeks of life.
The book carries endorsements from Gary Johanson, MD, medical director of palliative care at Memorial Hospice and Home Health, and Niranjana Parthasarathi, MD, retired associate professor of clinical internal medicine at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. It was published by Amans Vitae Press, carries the ISBN-13 978-0692945087, and is available in paperback and e-book editions on Amazon.
