New book helps families face end of life care with peace
Millions of Baby Boomers are entering their later years, bringing end-of-life caregiving, hospice options and advance decisions into sharper focus for families across the country. A new book draws on direct experience to help readers approach these topics with greater clarity and reduced anxiety.
Paula Wrenn lived through her husband Jim’s two-year hospice journey. What began with fear for Jim evolved into acceptance marked by courage, peace and moments of joy. Before he died he asked Wrenn to share what the couple had learned so other families could face the end of life with less fear, better preparation and more time for what matters most.
Wrenn fulfilled that request by inviting Jim’s hospice nurse, Jo Gustely, to co-author the guide. The collaboration pairs a family caregiver’s intimate viewpoint with a hospice professional’s clinical perspective.
The resulting volume supplies a rare dual lens on the same end-of-life experience, showing both what it means to accompany a loved one through dying and what experienced hospice staff understand about the process itself.
Dying Well with Hospice explores thoughtful preparation, open communication and compassionate care that allow families to make the most of remaining time together. It explains the natural dying process, describes how hospice supports patients and caregivers alike, and offers practical ways to begin difficult conversations before a crisis occurs.
The authors directly challenge the notion that choosing hospice equals giving up. Instead they demonstrate how hospice delivers comfort, guidance and support while enabling patients to stay engaged with the people and activities they value most.
Wrenn said she was inspired watching Jim move from worry about dying to facing the end with courage and positivity. Both credited the hospice experience with making his final months meaningful and even joyful. She added that caregiving is challenging and stressful yet brings immeasurable rewards, and that the book validates the importance of the end of life while helping families discover its spiritual and emotional benefits.
Paula Wrenn worked more than twenty-five years as a freelance writer for businesses, newspapers and magazines, covering older adults, caregiving, aging well and hospice. Earlier she owned an elder-care business, volunteered with senior organizations and chaired a local federally qualified health center. She has assisted several family members through peaceful transitions at life’s end.
Jo Gustely earned 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 became a hospice nurse in Northern California in 2005 and finds the role balances clinical challenges with meaningful interactions across cultures and disciplines.
Medical director Gary Johanson, MD, of Memorial Hospice and Home Health called the book exceptional for its depth on practical and emotional-spiritual realities. Retired associate professor Niranjana Parthasarathi, MD, described it as an excellent resource for patients, families and friends of the terminally ill. Long-term caregiver Joachim Kothe said the self-care recommendations and spousal-care tips would have been invaluable during his wife’s two-year hospice stay.
Dying Well with Hospice: A Compassionate Guide to End-of-Life Care is published by Amans Vitae Press. The ISBN-13 is 978-0692945087 and the paperback and e-book editions are available on Amazon.
The complete title is Dying Well with Hospice: A Compassionate Guide to End-of-Life Care.
