Reviews

A Beginner's Guide to the End: Practical Advice for Living Life and Facing Death by B.J. Miller, Shoshana Berger

sarahpreskitt's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

amandaesque's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

annabee's review against another edition

informative slow-paced

2.5

dlince's review against another edition

4.0

The Washington Post quote nailed in - “A gentle, knowledgeable guide to a fate we all share."

While it wasn't a "fun" read, it was an informative one. I'm left feeling like I have a guidebook that will point the way when I or a loved one is overwhelmed.

dracovulpini's review against another edition

informative reflective slow-paced

3.25

lglupolt's review against another edition

4.0

Everything you need to know but didn't think to ask. I need a hard copy, so I can keep all this valuable information at my fingertips.

gottbergmn's review against another edition

5.0

This is a nuts & bolts down-to-earth practical guide on death and dying—either personally or peripherally. I appreciated the matter-of-fact tone and sensible manageable suggestions and lists. Dying will happen to us all and a tool that allows us to manage it and, more importantly, talk about it plainly and bluntly.

amh9121's review against another edition

challenging inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.75

malvord27's review against another edition

5.0

I grew up going to funerals and wakes, so death isn't something which has been completely out of my life. I've had a decent amount of death in my life, and when I found out about this book I knew I needed to read it. It's a thorough book which takes you through all aspects of illness and death. It compassionately and thoughtfully gives you checklists for many items, items which you don't need to think about until you're in the thick of it. Most of the book is geared towards the patient, but there are call-outs to the caregiver throughout each chapter, and a chapter dedicated specifically to the caregiver.

I plan to buy this book in hardcopy. It can be my go-to research item when I or one of my loved ones gets sick. Well worth the investment - both dollars and time - to read and own.

howardgo's review

emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

Originally published at myreadinglife.com.

Being solidly middle-aged, I have started to experience the fact that I can no longer do many of the things I used to do in my twenties and thirties. And those that I can do, I can't do to the same extent. I am slower, less nimble, and get tired faster. Naturally, this has led me to think more of my own mortality, both how I can live longer and what will happen when I die. For this last of life's events I highly recommend The Beginner's Guide to the End by B. J. Miller and Shoshana Berger.

The book is aimed at the patient but also covers the perspective of caregivers before, during, and after the death process, whether that involves a terminal illness or simple gradual decline. It is very thorough starting with all the things that you can and should do to prepare for this inevitability, such as wills and health care proxies. There is a whole section on illnesses, what to expect at the end, and how to treat symptoms of those who are dying. Perhaps most importantly, it covers how to ask for help as well as where to find it. It is a very thorough and helpful guide for anyone who is close to death or those caring for them.

Given its topic you would be forgiven for thinking that the book is dark and depressing. I did not find it so. Death is an unavoidable part of living, and this book takes a gentle caring approach to this journey. The authors are informative and sympathetic, taking the stigma, ignorance, and fear out of dying.