Understanding the Special Awareness, Needs, and Communications of the Dying

   The authors are hospice nurses who write about 'nearing death awareness' as opposed to 'near death experiences.' Near death experiences happen suddenly, resulting from things such as traffic accidents, heart attack, or drowning. Nearing death awareness develops slowly as a result of progressive illnesses like cancer, lung disease, or AIDS.

   The heart of this book is the many first person stories about the dying and those who care about them. Here patients describe what they are experiencing: feeling in the presence of someone not alive, needing to prepare for a journey, seeing a place only they can see, and even knowing when death will occur.

   Their confusing statements are often bewildering because we don't understand the symbolic language of the dying. In Final Gifts, Maggie Callanan and Patricia Kelley provide a means for understanding that language as the dying try to tell us what they are experiencing and what they will need for a peaceful death.

   The authors offer suggestions on how to help, what to do, and what to say when someone we love is dying. The book builds to a strong finish. It is as valuable for those with a progressive illness as for those who care for them.

From Final Gifts:

--"The most important thing to remember when a dying person sees someone invisible to you is that death is not lonely. Many people fear that they, or someone they love, will die alone. In fact, what the stories of these people tell us is that they didn't die alone, and neither will we. Those who have died before us, or some spiritual beings, will be companions on our journey."