âA gentle, knowledgeable guide to a fate we all shareâ (The Washington Post): the first and only all-encompassing action plan for the end of life.
âThere is nothing wrong with you for dying,â hospice physician B.J. Miller and journalist and caregiver Shoshana Berger write in A Beginnerâs Guide to the End. âOur ultimate purpose here isnât so much to help you die as it is to free up as much life as possible until you do.â
Theirs is a clear-eyed and big-hearted action plan for approaching the end of life, written to help readers feel more in control of an experience that so often seems anything but controllable. Their book offers everything from step-by-step instructions for how to do your paperwork and navigate the healthcare system to answers to questions you might be afraid to ask your doctor, like whether or not sex is still okay when youâre sick. Get advice for how to break the news to your employer, whether to share old secrets with your family, how to face friends who might not be as empathetic as youâd hoped, and how to talk to your children about your will. (Donât worry: if anyone gets snippy, itâll likely be their spouses, not them.) There are also lessons for survivors, like how to shut down a loved oneâs social media accounts, clean out the house, and write a great eulogy.
An honest, surprising, and detail-oriented guide to the most universal of all experiences, A Beginnerâs Guide to the End is âa book that every family should have, the equivalent of Dr. Spock but for this other phase of lifeâ (New York Times bestselling author Dr. Abraham Verghese).