Surviving Death: A Practical Guide to Caring for the Dying & Bereaved

by Charles Meyer

Book Overview

Meyer offers level-headed advice for coping with death and its aftermath. Surviving Death includes chapters on "Pulling the Plug," "Hastening the Inevitable," and the issue of an afterlife. A useful... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0896224864
• ISBN13: 9780896224865
• Release Date: January 1991
• Publisher: Twenty-Third Publications
• Length: 175 Pages
• Weight: 4.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Guide for dying and bereaved

In our lives we get prepared for many life changing events: birth, marriage, job change, but when it comes to death, most people try to avoid thinking about it. It is ironic, since death is inevitable and we all should anticipate it in some way and do the best that we can to prepare for it. The advantage of old age and terminal illness allows us just that - to prepare to exit this world in a manner accepable to us and the ones closest to us. That includes funeral planning, decision making about medical and/or palliative care (living will), decision making about the persons in our lives who can make a decisions for us in case we get mentally incapacitated where we cannot make all of those decisions ourselves (power of attorney), decision making about organ donation and body donation, preparing will (testament), final readings and prayers as well as music and preachers at the day of the funeral. This book really covers it all. What I found most amazing is that although wirtten by a hospital chaplan, this book appears to be more secular than theological. I was pleased to find that author talks about difficult subjects such as: phases of dying, phases of grief, difference between hospice, death in highly technical medical institution, euthanasia and suicide. I was pleased to learn that there is a clergyman who explains that sickness and terminal illness are not consequence of God's punishment, but outcome of our individual lives that get ravaged by stress, bad eating, smoking, lack of exercise. All those factors combined, result in various deaths for various people but are not God's punishment by any means. I do think thta author misunderstands Elizabeth Kubler Ross' notion of 5 stages of death as something that has to happen in a specific order and in synch between a dying person and their family. Ms. Kubless-Ross never said that we all go thru all five stages of death much less than those are in synch with people around us. On the contrary, she said that the tragedy of death is the disconect between how the dying person feel and how the grieving family feels. Mr. Meyer is deeply spiritual, caring and thoughtful about the subject of dying. This book will not cover much on the subject of dying children or subject of explaining to children about death. But the point Mr. Meyer is trying to make is be direct and straightforward. Euphemisms about death can anly create unwanted fear while being frank and open about it will make it more accepting to all involved in the process. I highly recommend this book for both terminally ill and their grieving family. I did learn from this book about five stages of grieving process that I was not aware of before.

Laughter & tears

(Chuck Meyer also wrote about the Bubba the Texas Angel) In his passing we all are regretful. He was an Episcopal Minister & Chaplain at St David's Hospital in Austin,Texas. He was a major factor in the medical community's understanding of these issues, as well as the lay public & he had a huge impact on the growth of the hospice community. His skill in helping us understand the reality of living & dying was unsurpassed. His own losses were great having lost 2 wives, & many friends. When christians want to know what grace is, that would be the spirit that Chuck Meyer embodied & shared in this book.

A Wonderful Book

As a caregiver in a geriatric/skilled nursing facility, I have found this book to be very helpful in assisting the families of dying patients. Charles Meyer has written an honest, open view of both the dying process, and 'how and why' we feel the way we do. I highly recommend this book to those in the medical and social service professions.

Surviving Death

As a geriatric care manager and a grief counselor, this is the best book written on putting your life together after the death of a loved one. Written by a priest who was the chaplain in an oncology ward for years, it pulls no punches. Meyer examines myths about dying, inaccurate Biblical quotes about death, taboos, cultural misconceptions about the grief process, and the change of status that accompanies widowhood. This is a gentle, readable book that encourages the survivor on to a different perspective on life, and acceptance of a new lifestyle.