Reviews of Peaceful Passage

Death doesn’t have to be as hard as life. “Peaceful Passage: The Essential Guide to Navigating the Emotional Storms and Daily Logistics of an At-Home End of Life Journey” is a guide for caretakers who are tasked with making a loved one’s final days a more powerful and easier experience, one that can be as free of pain as possible. With wisdom for facing the fears of death, finding closure, and making the last moments count, “Peaceful Passage” is a strong pick for anyone faced with these unfortunate circumstances.”

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Ms. West has written a practical, thoughtful and informed guide for the at-home caregiver. Her tender manner and supportive phrasing make this book easy to read, helpful in understanding what to expect and useful for documenting one’s own thoughts about the caregiving experience. As a hospice nurse, I found myself nodding in agreement with her suggestions and her descriptions of the last journey. The important message of this book is that caregivers are not alone in their experiences yet each experience is unique and to be cherished.

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Thank God for a resource that deals with the difficult issues, concerns and cares that are necessary to address so that we, and most importantly those for whom we care, can make a Peaceful Passage. Using the imagery of navigation through the rough waters of life's demands, while addressing the common fears and sometimes unresolved emotional issues, all the while working through the struggles around faith and God; Kim West can say the proverbial: I think I know what you are going through with real assurance. For those dealing with and caring for loved ones who are approaching death, this book is essential in bringing life to their loved ones and themselves, preparing everyone for the spiritual, emotional and psychological journey ahead.

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Written simply and compassionately, Peaceful Passage addresses everything you need to know to care for your loved one on their final journey. From the very beginning of the journey to the very end and beyond, it guides you in making decisions, how to provide care, dealing with emotions and spirituality and everything else to expect on the way. Peaceful Passage is not only a resource to help care for the dying but will help the caregiver find the strength and peace to live on.

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This book holds such honest, loving insight into caring for a loved one on their final journey. Simple, practical, and a wealth of knowledge ... it truly is a safe harbor for the unique gift of walking someone home.

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I think the book detailed the journey one takes in companioning one who is dying very well. I especially like that it did not spare the uncomfortable or messy details. One needs to know that they will happen and how to handle them. I did find the book the most comprehensive and practical chronicle of accompanying I have read. The emotional information is often missing in other publications but was covered here with such truth and love. The pictures and journal at the end made the telling personal and the love expressed so real. In reading the journal all the practical advice was integrated with real daily events.

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Peaceful Passage is an exceptional tool and resource for anyone assisting or witnessing a loved one going through their final journey in life. It is a delightful, heartfelt, open discussion of processes, tips and things to ponder when traveling with them. You will find it a necessity to journal or to answer questions that occur during this time. Well done, and I applaud you. Thank you from all of us.

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I was very touched! It is obvious the book was written by someone who has firsthand experience with traveling this journey and has a heart to share the journey with others. The information is practical, useful, and presented in a compassionate, caring, and gentle way. Not only is the book informative but is an interesting, enjoyable read. I would recommend everyone taking this journey to read the book.

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This is a wonderful guide for caregivers during the dying process. The educational benefit to family members with a dying loved one at home is phenomenal. The author has used her own experiences to prepare families for each step of the journey. I thought the exercises at the end of each chapter were a great start to the bereavement process.

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This was written with truth, love, compassion and caring by someone who has had to make the difficult choices concerning her loved one. It is an excellent resource for all those who must face this end-of-life journey.

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I had the privilege of reading the Peaceful Passage manuscript and found it to be well-written, easy-to-understand and full of valuable and vital information for those of us caring for others with end of life needs. The author shares part of her own story, making the words even more meaningful to the reader. She easily helps the reader navigate the waters of caring for a dying person in a dignified and compassionate way. This book will, no doubt, become a solid resource to persons taking care of those they love in their final days.

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I found the book very insightful and informative. I believe anyone who has a loved one approaching the end of this mortal journey would benefit from this personal information. It would be a blessing to have this book at the bedside of a loved one regardless if they are in a Hospice environment or being taken care of by the immediate family members. Many of the emotional and physical experiences shared by the author would feel common to others as they attempt to understand what is "normal" and what may come next.

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Very practical and informative, with a true-life, heartfelt ending. Families will benefit from the information in this book.

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A comprehensive look at all that is involved in assisting a loved one through the final phase of her life. This work is bound to bring peace and increase the personal growth that can be taken from such a difficult experience.

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The book has a lot of useful information for people seaching to learn about hospice. It gives information to help the patient and the caregiver along this path.

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In this compassion-driven book, Dr. West makes the journey for caring for a dying loved one at home vivid and real, as if it were happening to the reader right now. She achieves this through her exhaustive practical detail (such as the kind and quantity of bed linens needed, how to wash the loved one's hair in bed, and what kinds of food to aim for and which to avoid). She also achieves this, especially on the emotional and spiritual levels, through allowing us the privilege of seeing her diary of what the journey was like. Even for myself, a seasoned hospice chaplain, I was deeply moved by its authenticity. The one disappointment in the book, however, is its assumptions about God. Any reader ambivalent about or alienated from or not believing in God or who is not a Christian may feel let down that they do not have this wonderful answer to the struggles of their own journeys.

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Very beautifully written, from the heart, well organized with very useful information.

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The author embraces the philosophy and spirituality of bringing honor and affirmation to one's life during its final stages. Peaceful Passage is accurate, easy to understand, and is an excellent, comprehensive guide for anyone facing the death of a loved one.

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Reading Peaceful Passage is an essential guide for caring for a loved one at end-of-life. I wish I had had this step-by-step journey when my father and my mother, three years apart departed this world. This is a great book to give a friend when the time is right. As a professional working in an environment of respite and palliative care for children the thought process on what is important in life has a whole new set of priorities. A good read filled with important messages, thank you.

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Kim West has taken her personal experience as a caregiver and created a well-designed guide to help others. I think this book will be a tremendous help to others in identifying needs and expectations as one begins the journey as a caregiver. One can expect to find helpful hints in many areas including finding a hospice to fit your needs, marriage, family and work demands to faith issues, just to name a few. I think West has created a wonderful guide for use as one begins the journey of passage to the next realm and readers will be able to get comfort from the help the book offers.

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I found it to be a unique look at navigating the journey of end of life with a loved one. Unlike most books of this type which are either information or personal experience, Kim has done a great job of combining the two to give the reader a resource on both levels. She has also done an excellent job of showing what hospice is about. Hospice is not about helping someone die, but about helping them live until they die.

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Wow, your book is great! I wish I had found it several years ago.

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