Handbook for Mortals: Guidance for People Facing Serious Illness

by Janice Lynch Schuster

Handbook for Mortals is warmly addressed to all those who wish to approach the final years of life with greater awareness of what to expect and greater confidence about how to make the end of our lives a time for growth, comfort, and meaningful reflection. Written by Drs. Joanne Lynn and Joan Harrold and a variety of experts from nursing, hospice, counseling, and the arts, this book provides equal measures of practical information and gentle insight. Readers will learn what decisions they will need to face, where to look for help, how to ease pain and other symptoms, what to expect with specific diseases, and how the health-care system operates. Equally important to this practical information are the personal stories included here of how people have come to terms with dying, faced their fears, and made important choices. From down-to-earth advice on how to talk to your doctor to inspiring quotes from such writers as W. H. Auden, Jane Kenyon, and others, Handbook for Mortals encompasses the needs of both the body and the spirit in our final years.

Genres: Nonfiction, Death, Research, Health, Spirituality, Medicine

Paperback

First published February 15, 1999

Reviews

[Minnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the sort of book that people who don't need to, read it whereas people who do need to read it, may well not want to. I was confronted with my mortality per kind favor of cancer and i started reading. True to my nature I wanted to find out and this book is an excellent book about the whole dying thing. It is well written, deftly divided into clear chapters and the salient points are neatly presented in shaded boxes.
It is however the type of book to read when you are healthy! And that is its paradox, we do not want to think about death whilst we feel good and when we are confronted with our own mortality, it is almost impossible to muster the courage to read about it.

[Wren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Authors Dr. Joanne Lynn, Dr. Joan Harrold and Janice Lynch Schuster (MFA) present an information-rich guide to managing life with serious illness. Our youth-obsessed culture pays very little attention to the realities of late life. This book seeks to address a gross lack of understanding of how to manage very serious health concerns and how to function while active in the dying process.

Even though much of the book focuses on slowly progressing health issues of older adults, it does also contain information and narratives for sudden deaths. The book also describes illness and death of younger adults and children.

The book provides information, advice and comfort for those who are living with an illness and later dying from it. But it's also a guide to caregivers--whether they be family members or formal caregivers such as home health aides, certified nurse assistants, registered nurses or other health care professionals. The topics cover concerns that are physical as well as emotional. The book covers a broad scope of information but it's presented in a clear way with plenty of subheadings, pictures, bulluted lists and quote boxes.

The book is organized into the following chapters:

Foreward by Rosalynn Carter
Introduction
1. Living with Serious Illness
2. Enduring and Changing
3. Finding Meaning
4. Helping Family Make Decisions and Give Care
5. Getting the Help You Need
6. Talking with Your Doctor
7. Controlling Pain
8. Managing Other Symptoms
9. Living with Specific Illnesses
10. Planning Ahead
11. Deciding about Medical Interventions
12. Hastening Death
13. Coping with Event Near Death
14. The Dying of Children
15. Dying Suddenly
16. Enduring Loss
17. Resources
Acknowledgements
Index

All people will need to learn how to manage bodies that are grinding to a halt. It's a reality of the life cycle. We can put up blinders and pretend not to see, or we can equip ourselves with good information so that we can more expertly manage these late-life challenges. I want to recommend this book to anyone turning 50, but I also recognize that illness, disease and death affects people in every decade, so it's an appropriate book for adults of all ages.

[Tanja Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main drawback to this book is its age—the copyright on my book was from 1999, so 35 years old. Some of the information is old, particularly on insurance issues and ways to access information. I’m sure a lot of the resources in the back of the book are outdated, and social media wasn’t a thing, unless you count the old message boards! But overall a useful book on what to expect when one is dealing with a serious illness who may or may not be facing death. There’s also great information on grieving. Despite its age, it’s still worth reading.

[Daniel Beasley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Handbook for Mortals showed up as recommended reading in several resources I've been looking at lately so I decided to take a look.
Overall, it's a good resource but the book's weaknesses lie in it's approach more as a guide on how to face death than as a guide on how to face life. (I'm sick but I'm not planning on dying...soon.)
This book also takes a morally neutral attitude toward suicide (assisted and otherwise) that just struck me as creepy.
Those issues aside it contains great info on dealing with medical questions and preparing for death.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really good book about preparing oneself for terminal illness and death. It has lots of very practical information for consideration, presented in a direct, calm, and warm manner. It’s an excellent guide for people with serious illness, their family and caretakers, and elders.

[Megan Polley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for Psychology of Death and Dying class. It was very informative, though I felt some sections could have gone into more depth.

[Rae Simpson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Minuteman. Skimmed. About handling a terminal illness. Considered for LWN but not a fit.

[cathy]

I've consulted with the author this year for a work project, so this wasn't a book I picked by choice. That said, I'm glad I read it. It's a great resource for thinking about your own mortality (if you so choose) and a very detailed how-to on initiating difficult conversations with family and friends who are sick and close to, as Lynn puts it, "last chapter of their lives". A tough read, for sure, but only based on the sensitivity of the content. Lynn's life work has been to bring the idea of a 'good' death to the masses. She is successful here.

[Erica]

If I come down with a serious illness, I'm going to check this out again. However, it wasn't exactly what I was looking for at this time.
I skimmed it, looking for information relevant to my own situation and while there was some, I had better books on had, books that addressed what I needed to know much better.

SO! Good for those who have just been given the terrible news that they've come down with a delibilitating and/or terminal illness, not as good for those helping a loved one with end of life care.

[Kristy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fantastic and should be read by everyone, whether you have a serious illness or not. It's up there with "The Anatomy of Hope". People in North American avoid the idea of serious illness (one of the questions people ask me the most is, "But isn't there a cure??") and death far too much. This book can help you or a loved one deal with these issues. It is down to earth and practical, but also compassionate. I plan to read it again.

[Ci · Rating 2 out of 5]

Useful manual for people who face terminal illness. The writing is plain and uninspired.

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very easy to read book with a lot of reassuring advice for the stage of life none of us are ever really prepared for - dying.