Dying Well, Defining Wellness through the End of Life, Dr. Ira Byock

DyingWell.org

Defining Wellness
through the End of Life

Resources for people
facing life-limiting illness,
their families, and their professional caregivers

Dr. Ira Byock, long time palliative care physician and advocate for improved end-of-life care, and a past president of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, provides written resources and referrals to organizations, web sites and books to empower persons with life threatening illness and their families to live fully.

What You Will Find At This Site ...

RECENT ARTICLES
Quick access to Dr. Byock's most recent writings.

Articles and Writings
A collection of Dr. Byock's Professional Publications, Op-Ed Articles, and Selected Interviews

Latest Book
The Four Things That Matter Most
"Please forgive me. I forgive you. Thank you. I love you." These four simple statements are a powerful tool for easing suffering of people facing life's end - themselves or a loved one - and preparing to say "Good-bye." They are about cleaning up and "becoming current" in our relationships with the people in our lives who matter most. More Details
'The Four Things' Readers' Guide

Feedback
Communicate with Dr. Byock.

Frequently Asked Questions about End-of-Life Experience and Care
Dr. Byock has added this new area to this web site excerpted from Dying Well. He hopes it will be of value.

Landmarks and Developmental Tasks
A working set of Developmental Landmarks and Taskwork for the End of Life presented in a practical framework.

'Dying Well' Discussion Guide
Developed specifically for use by book clubs and classes, this guide serves as a jumping off point for valuable and meaningful discussion on the subject of “Dying Well” and what that means for each individual.

Featured Art
The art series featured in this area are available as traveling exhibitions to communities wishing to facilitate dialogue about dying, death and grief as a natural part of life.

Dr. Byock has been instrumental in developing Reclaiming the End of Life, a non-partisan Initiative that will use the 2007 New Hampshire primary campaign as a means of capturing national attention to the plight of frail elders, dying people and family caregivers – and to potential solutions to this national crisis. More Details at www.ReclaimTheEnd.org

Living With Dying - Website and Blog

"TWO WEEKS", a 2007 motion picture starring Sally Fields, is about a mother's dying and her three thirty-something children who care for her.

Almost everyone has known someone who was dying. It's part of life. While we all have stories of what happened during that time, most of us haven't talked about them with others. This site, inspired by the upcoming film "Two Weeks," is the place to share those experiences and to engage in dialogue with Dr. Byock and Steve Stockman, the writer and director of Two Weeks. More Details HERE.

Resources
A listing of Selected Reading and Related Web Sites.

Missoula-Vitas Quality of Life Index
Guide to Using the Missoula-Vitas Quality of Life Index (MVQOLI), including updated long and short versions of the tool in English and Spanish, scoring information, and details regarding training and registration.

Books

The Four Things That Matter Most
Palliative and End-of-Life Pearls
A Few Months the Live: Different Paths to Life's End
Dying Well: The prospect for Growth at the End of Life
READ Recent Reviews (Jan. 2007)

Spread the Word to Others Who Might Benefit

Growth House Search
This search engine, courtesy of Growth House, Inc., is optimized to point toward the best online resources for end-of-life issues

Promoting Excellence in End-of-Life Care
Dedicated to long-term changes to improve health care for dying persons and their families through technical assistance to innovative demonstration projects addressing particular challenges to existing models of hospice and palliative care

The Grief Series

The art of Cathy Weber combines calligraphy, gold leaf, illumination, narrative illustration, stitchery and the poetry of Gertrude Stein. Informed by personal loss, the artworks form a chronology of loss, grief and healing

Recommended Web Sites

Recommended Books

Speaking Engagement Inquiries and Other Notices including most recently posted articles

"Through my years as a hospice doctor, I have learned that dying does not have to be agonizing. Physical suffering can always be alleviated. People need not die alone: many times the calm, caring presence of another can soothe a dying person's anguish. I think it is realistic to hope for a future in which nobody has to die alone and nobody has to die with his pain untreated. But comfort and companionship are not all there is. I have learned from my patients and their families a surprising truth about dying: this stage of life holds remarkable possibilities. Despite the arduous nature of the experience, when people are relatively comfortable and know that they are not going to be abandoned, they frequently find ways to strengthen bonds with people they love and to create profound meaning in their final passage."

excerpted from
Dying Well: The Prospect for Growth at the End of Life
Ira Byock, M.D.

Dying Well: The Prospect of Growth at the End of Life
is published by Putnam/Riverhead (1997)
and distributed in the USA, Canada, Australia, Germany and Japan.

READ Recent Reviews (Jan. 2007)

Return to the Top