Garfield - Lifes last gift: giving and receiving peace when a loved one is dying

SPECIAL PRAISE FOR

Lifes Last Gift

In this finely written and immensely useful book, Charles Garfield offers all of us the concrete guidance well need to skillfully and compassionately support those we love at the end of their lives. Dr. Garfield knows the terrain intimately and his book will help family members and friends of the dying negotiate this difficult and confusing time with grace and kindness.

DAVID SHEFF, New York Times bestselling author of Clean and Beautiful Boy

Caring for someone during the last months of life is among our most profoundand dauntingresponsibilities. Drawing skillfully on decades of professional experience and his own personal relationships, Charles Garfield imparts his practical wisdom to transform caring for a dying person from a problem to be solved to a journey to be walked, shoulder to shoulder, with the other. In Lifes Last Gift, the path Garfield offers is the way of the heart.

IRA BYOCK, MD, palliative care physician, author of Dying Well and The Four Things That Matter Most

Dr. Garfield has written a highly practical and useful bookpacked with moving stories, deep wisdom, and inspiring insights. This accessible volume is a genuine gift that demonstrates how we can all be effective, supportive caretakers for the dying.

ROGER WALSH, MD, PhD, professor of psychiatry, UC Irvine Medical School, and author of Essential Spirituality: The Seven Central Practices

Lifes Last Gift is a masterpiece of caregiving wisdom! It is a legacy of ideas and some of the most vital information Ive ever read on dyingand living. Dr. Garfields beautifully written book is a wise and loving work that you wont be able to put down; it belongs on every adults required reading list.

JIM SANTUCCI, executive director of Kara: Grief Support for Children, Teens, Families, and Adults

For decades, Charles Garfield has been a leader in the compassionate care of loved ones at the end of life. His moving teachings show us how we can open our hearts and minds and bring peace and fulfillment to the person who is dying and to all those who are affected. This is a rare and remarkable book, one that all of us will need. It is a genuine blessing!

KARIN EVANS, author of The Lost Daughters of China

I am absolutely confident that Dr. Garfields invaluable book Lifes Last Gift will be important to you in your life. Its heartfelt and poignant stories and superb guidance offer us all a treasure trove of unique insights. This is a deeply compassionate work that speaks directly to all those who hope for greater peace and comfort at lifes end.

KAUSHIK ROY, executive director of Shanti Project: Enhancing the Health, Quality of Life, and Well-Being of People with Terminal, Life-Threatening, or Disabling Illnesses or Conditions

Lifes Last Gift is a distillation of wisdom gained from a lifetime of service in care of the dying. Dr. Garfields authentic, eloquent sharing of personal experiences and guidelines for the reader make this book a heartwarming treasure to be read and shared with others right now, before its too late.

FRANCES E. VAUGHAN, PhD, author of Shadows of the Sacred: Seeing Through Spiritual Illusions

Here is a book on end-of-life care that you will not be able to put down. Lifes Last Gift offers family members, friends, and health professionals the support they need to navigate lifes final chapter with grace, courage, and skill. It is a deeply honest work about dying, living, and loving. I recommend it enthusiastically.

FRANK OSTASESKI, founder of the Metta Institute and author of The Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully

Charles Garfields book Lifes Last Gift is a treasure. It is beautiful, heartfelt, and overflowing with hard-won, compassionate wisdom. My prayer is that it be offered in every hospice, hospital, and chaplaincy programin every setting and to every person who will lovingly accompany someone at the end of life. My prayer is that my children will read it when it comes my time. This book is a gift.

KATHLEEN DOWLING SINGH, author of The Grace in Dying: How We Are Transformed Spiritually as We Die

Lifes Last Gift is an inspiring and practical book of in-the-trenches caregiving wisdom. Readers will find a rare resource and a wealth of insight about lifes end by a voice of experience and compassion. Dr. Charles Garfield has given health professionals, as well as family and friends of the dying, a unique gift of immense importance.

MICKI KLEARMAN, MD, Genentech

Lifes Last Gift, itself a remarkable gift, shows us the healing power of conversations at lifes end and offers us wisdom, courage, and guidance for having these challenging and heartfelt communications with those we love. Keep this book nearby, and dont wait to read it.

DALE G. LARSON, PhD, professor of counseling psychology, Santa Clara University, and author of The Helpers Journey: Working with People Facing Grief, Loss, and Life-Threatening Illness

Central Recovery Press (CRP) is committed to publishing exceptional materials addressing addiction treatment, recovery, and behavioral healthcare topics. For more information, visit www.centralrecoverypress.com.

2017 by Charles Garfield

All rights reserved. Published 2017. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

Publisher: Central Recovery Press

3321 N. Buffalo Drive

Las Vegas, NV 89129

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Garfield, Charles A., author.

Title: Lifes last gift: how to give and receive peace when a loved one is dying / Charles Garfield.

Description: Las Vegas, NV: Central Recovery Press, [2017]

Identifiers: LCCN 2017020977 (print) | LCCN 2017034984 (ebook) | ISBN 9781942094517 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Terminally ill--Psychology. | DeathPsychological aspects. | Peace of mind.

Classification: LCC R726.8 (ebook) | LCC R726.8 .G376 2017 (print) | DDC 616.02/9--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017020977

Photo of Charles Garfield by Stu Selland. Used with permission.

Excerpts from This Timeless Moment and O Nobly Born from THIS TIMELESS MOMENT A PERSONAL VIEW OF ALDOUS HUXLEY by Laura Huxley. Copyright 1968 by Laura Archera Huxley. Reprinted by permission of Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

This Timeless Moment: A Personal View of Aldous Huxley by Laura Huxley. Copyright 1968, 2000 by Laura Archera Huxley. Used by permission of Georges Borchardt, Inc., on behalf of Laura Huxley. All rights reserved.

Republished with permission of CCC Republication from Here and Now: Living in the Spirit, Henri Nouwen. 1994; permission conveyed through Copyright Clearance Center, Inc.

Excerpt from page 174 republished with permission of Kristin Neff from http://self-compassion.org.

Excerpt from page 212 republished with permission of Jan Thomas from Music, Ministry and Spirit.

Every attempt has been made to contact copyright holders. If copyright holders have not been properly acknowledged, please contact us. Central Recovery Press will be happy to rectify the omission in future printings of this book.