“Warm stories of client experiences give permission to imagine a death experienced with as much humanity as the rest of life, with profound results for everyone affected by the event. Fersko-Weiss’s perspective is a desperately needed reminder of the value of facing life’s most difficult transitions with open eyes and hearts.” – Publishers Weekly Starred Review
“Written for families and caregivers, this book provides a clear overview of end-of-life doulas and a compelling case for their wider use in terminal care. It also supplies some wonderful ideas and techniques for all readers who want to have a more peaceful, meaningful death for themselves or their loved ones.” – Library Journal Starred Review
“This brave, reassuring book succeeds at eliminating the negativity surrounding death, reframing what seems like a passive, painful experience as an active journey that ‘captures the concentrated fragrance of a person’s life, its sweetest flavor.’” –Foreword Reviews
"This is a pitch perfect, accessible book on an otherwise inaccessible subject. Just what the world needs right now. Mr. Fersko-Weiss points us to all sorts of ways to find meaning at the end of life, or ways to create it. His beautiful and poignant stories can be used as road-maps, not only for clinicians, but also for patients, family members, or caregivers who wish to stay connected through to the end of life." - BJ Miller, MD, author of A Beginner’s Guide to the End
BJ Miller, MD
“An inspired and practical guide on accompanying those on the precipice of death. Henry reaches into his years of experience in leading doula trainings to provide the reader with invaluable tools. He focuses in on the essential non-medical elements that really matter like deep listening, sitting vigil, establishing a calm and receptive environment and facilitating meaningful rituals. Lots of wisdom in these pages.” - Frank Ostaseski, author Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully, founder of the Metta Institute and co-founder of the Zen Hospice Project
Frank Ostaseski
“An extraordinary contribution to the care of the dying. Through story and instruction, Henry Fersko-Weiss offers his great wisdom on how we can offer meaningful care that can not only ease an individual’s dying but provide consolation to family and friends as they cope with grief and loss.” - Kenneth J. Doka, author of Grief is a Journey
Kenneth J. Doka
“Henry’s calm, practical, and pioneering book is an excellent guide for those wishing to learn how to be a doula for the dying, whether formal or informal, which will certainly also make them an inspiration for the consciously living. This book should be taken up with great relief to guide us from now, while vibrantly alive, and certainly at the time of transition.” - Robert A. F. Thurman, Jey Tsong Khapa professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University and author of Infinite Life and Man of Peace
Robert A. F. Thurman
