Matters of Life and Death: Finding the Words to Say Goodbye [Paperback]

Plenty of books explore the emotions of coping with grief and a loved one’s death. But as psychologist Carol Wogrin has observed, there is little advice for those at a loss for words witnessing the process of dying. Matters of Life and Death discusses the importance of communicating with the terminally ill both through talking and nonverbal expression and offers suggestions for what to say to offer comfort, both emotional and physical.

Brimming with constructive advice for opening up, Matters of Life and Death helps allay the fears that often silence friends and relatives in the face of death. Helping readers manage their fears–the fear of saying the wrong thing, of upsetting others, of facing overwhelming feelings–this book is a beautiful prescription for conveying a heartfelt message when it matters the most.“Carol Wogrin’s dual training as a nurse and developmental psychologist has informed this thoughtful and pragmatic guide rare in its intellectual depth, yet concise and clear in its how-to approach…It will be of use to clinicians working with family members of persons nearing the end of life and to those family members themselves.”One

Talking with Dying People: What Do You Say, What Do You Do?

The most essential thing in life is to develop an unafraid, heartfelt communication with others, and it is never more important than with a dying person. --SOGYAL RINPOCHE

Death is a guaranteed part of all our lives--the deaths of people we love, as well as our own death. The question is not whether we face death or not, but rather, how we face it. Despite the fact that death is an inevitable experience for everyone, many of us still, when confronted with an impending death, unconsciously react with avoidance to our strong feelings of fear and sadnessl3™