Table of Contents
Endorsements i
Dedication xiii
Foreword xv
Introduction xix
Part I Where We Are Now 1
Chapter 1 Who Are the Death Workers Now? 3
Chapter 2 Why Don't We Just Work for Hospice? 5
Chapter 3 The Death Trade 9
Chapter 4 What Could Possibly Be Beyond Hospice? 13
Chapter 5 "I Thought I Made It Up" 17
Chapter 6 People Are Waking Up 19
Chapter 7 Who Are These People, the Others Like You? 21
Chapter 8 Accountants and Closet Organizers 25
Chapter 9 Hands-On Experience 29
Chapter 10 Outside the System 31
Chapter 11 Hospice and the End-of-Life Doula 33
Chapter 12 The Independent End-of-Life Doula 35
Chapter 13 One Phone Call 37
Part II How to Accompany the Dying 39
Chapter 14 Where Do We Begin? 41
Chapter 15 When All Is Well 43
Chapter 16 Early in the Process of Illness (Until Treatments Begin to Stop Working) 47
Chapter 17 Advanced Illness Decline (Prior to Hospice) 51
Chapter 18 The Decision for Hospice 55
Chapter 19 End Days: Person on Hospice 61
Chapter 20 End Days: Person Not on Hospice 63
Chapter 21 Pre-Death Vigil 67
Chapter 22 Death 71
Chapter 23 Post-Death Vigil 75
Chapter 24 Bereavement 77
Part III Things to Keep in Mind as an End-of-Life Doula 79
Chapter 25 Care of the Doula 81
Chapter 26 Dying "Organically" 83
Chapter 27 It's About Love 85
Chapter 28 Fighting Death 87
Chapter 29 Denial 91
Chapter 30 The Hospital Is No Place to Die 93
Chapter 31 Learning to Die 95
Chapter 32 Antibiotics Use 97
Chapter 33 Feeding Tube 99
Chapter 34 Mechanical Ventilation 101
Chapter 35 Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Death 103
Chapter 36 Terminal Sedation 105
Part IV Do I Want to Serve My Community as an End-of-Life Doula? 107
Chapter 37 Assess Your Commitment 109
Chapter 38 Considerations Prior to Building a Private Practice 113
Part V Supplemental Materials 117
I The Second Wave and My Story 119
II Palliative Care 123
III Hospice 127
IV End-of-Life Doula Training: Credentialing and Certification 129
V Consumer Guide to End-of-Life Training 131
VI Leading Your Community 138
VII Advance Directives 139
VIII End-of-Life Task List 140
IX Pre-Death and Post-Death Vigil Checklists 142
X Accidents, Violent Death and Suicide 146
XI The Sacred, Ceremony, Ritual 147
XII Bereavement Support 195
XIII Resources 150
Acknowledgments 151
About the Author 153