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Letting Go
Whatever your age, making key decisions about your medical care now can help you maintain your dignity and autonomy for as long as possible. In Letting Go , an expert explains why living well includes planning for life’s end. Thanks to miraculous medical advances, we are now living longer and longer. But this means that many individuals are now faced with making complex medical decisions, for themselves and for others, in times of great stress. How far should doctors go when trying to prolong life? How can we decide what is ‘too far’ and ‘not far enough’? Letting Go is an introduction to the kinds of decisions that we can all face in a medical crisis. It shows us how to start thinking about our end-of-life stage before we get there, and how to make an advanced care plan that will help people make decisions on our behalf. Drawing on many years of experience as an intensive-care specialist, and writing with great insight and compassion, Dr Corke shows us all how we can do dying better.
- GenresNonfictionHealthScience
256 pages, Paperback
Published July 12, 2018
22 people are currently reading
257 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 29, 2018
A sensitively and gently written book that encourages you to think about issues that could arise at end of life. It also helps you navigate the language and logistics of Advanced Care Planning. Would recommend.
June 18, 2020
The book I was going to write!
I have taken the clinical lead in my department for advanced care discussions and decision making, both in a training and direct care role. In recent years I have come to so many of the same conclusions as the author. The need to get a feel for the aspects of life that are valued. Talking about options in terms of outcome and consequences. Making sure that the limited or no treatment option is as clearly explained as the treatment choice. Even some of the cases are eerily parallel to my experience.
The only thing I would add is that I have noticed many doctors, especially consultants, are much better at holding these conversations, at taking the time to listen to the point of view of patients and families - and then they seem to consider that enough, and blithely go on to completely ignore what people want. And this feels like even more of a betrayal. They seem to feel that it is the act of having the conversation that matters, but their medical model will still take precedence. It is a difficult thing to prevent.
I have taken the clinical lead in my department for advanced care discussions and decision making, both in a training and direct care role. In recent years I have come to so many of the same conclusions as the author. The need to get a feel for the aspects of life that are valued. Talking about options in terms of outcome and consequences. Making sure that the limited or no treatment option is as clearly explained as the treatment choice. Even some of the cases are eerily parallel to my experience.
The only thing I would add is that I have noticed many doctors, especially consultants, are much better at holding these conversations, at taking the time to listen to the point of view of patients and families - and then they seem to consider that enough, and blithely go on to completely ignore what people want. And this feels like even more of a betrayal. They seem to feel that it is the act of having the conversation that matters, but their medical model will still take precedence. It is a difficult thing to prevent.
June 18, 2022
A really useful book to help with thinking about our end-of-life stage before we get there with useful information for navigating the decisions and paperwork. Also a helpful read for anyone navigating end-of-life with someone else. And it's Australian so totally relevant for Australian readers.
Read
May 9, 2018In crisp, clear prose Corke confronts the reader with the scenario most of us in Western society are likely to face after a period of declining health and function: ambulance, hospital, unconsciousness, no plan in place, family disagreements about treatment, escalation of medical intervention, and finally, our last days spent ‘‘connected to machines, cared for by strangers, and separated from family’’ … As a manual for how to avoid ending up in the ICU, in what one of Corke’s patients called ‘‘the bad bit at the end’’, Letting Go is a guide book for our age.
Gail Bell, The Saturday Age
We're not very good at talking about death in this country; this book should start a thousand conversations. Now that I've read it, I want to give it to everyone I know.
Annabel Crabb
This is a useful how-to manual for everybody who will at some point face death (which is of course all of us).
Weekend Australian
Gail Bell, The Saturday Age
We're not very good at talking about death in this country; this book should start a thousand conversations. Now that I've read it, I want to give it to everyone I know.
Annabel Crabb
This is a useful how-to manual for everybody who will at some point face death (which is of course all of us).
Weekend Australian
January 6, 2019
I appreciated that this book was by an Australian, only because I imagine the US healthcare system would make end of life decisions more financially complex - that being said, the author touches on some international contexts. Israel’s laws are largely influenced by Judaism meaning many years on a respirator vs dialysis being a treatment decided upon each time - which was an incredible distinction.
Personally, I felt the short stories of different patients/people were helpful but I got a little over them. I do acknowledge that they make it simplistic than using more academic or high level analysis though.
Overall: people want a comfortable death over a prolonged misery before death; and this is NOT the default setting of doctors. It takes advocating, sometimes loudly and forcefully, to seek pallitation over more and more treatments.
Personally, I felt the short stories of different patients/people were helpful but I got a little over them. I do acknowledge that they make it simplistic than using more academic or high level analysis though.
Overall: people want a comfortable death over a prolonged misery before death; and this is NOT the default setting of doctors. It takes advocating, sometimes loudly and forcefully, to seek pallitation over more and more treatments.
May 15, 2018
This was such an important and timely read for me. A glaring reminder about critical conversations we need to have with loved ones and ourselves.
We are unfortunately all going to die. Fact. How we can do that in the way that respects our wishes and values is something that we need to consider and talk about. Responding to crises in the moment or relying on doctors to make the “right” decision could lead us and our loved ones down a path they never wanted to be on. Read it, think on it, talk about it, make a plan, make sure everyone knows the plan!
We are unfortunately all going to die. Fact. How we can do that in the way that respects our wishes and values is something that we need to consider and talk about. Responding to crises in the moment or relying on doctors to make the “right” decision could lead us and our loved ones down a path they never wanted to be on. Read it, think on it, talk about it, make a plan, make sure everyone knows the plan!
December 21, 2021
Sensitively written, with well-informed advice on how to think about crafting an end-of-life plan that will actually be useful – and used – to guide decisions about treatment – while at the same time sounding caution about how difficult it can be to get doctors and family to respect end-of-life decisions. Unfortunately, I felt the writing was padded-out and repetitive.
Reading some of the patient stories in the book made me very glad to be living in a place where assisted dying is available and advanced care plans can be made legally enforceable.
Reading some of the patient stories in the book made me very glad to be living in a place where assisted dying is available and advanced care plans can be made legally enforceable.
December 14, 2018
This is probably the important book I have ever read. No matter what our age we have to discuss the end of our lives. This books shows how important it is to word you wishes correctly and to communicate your wishes to everyone concerned. Death is just a trip to another country.. would you go somewhere and not plan the trip beforehand?
March 25, 2018
The best, most honest book I've read about planning for a good death: Letting Go by Dr Charlie Corke To see my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2018/03/25/l...
July 2, 2018
Really useful as it helps clarify the questions that should be asked when you or a loved one undergoes treatment. Horrifying to think that even though you may hold a DNR, it could (very likely will) be ignored.
March 27, 2021
I'm not dying nor do I know anyone that is but I enjoyed this. I support euthanasia under certain circumstances for sure. This is a good book for starting this often awkward or upsetting conversation.
May 24, 2018
A very interesting subject area - particularly the chapter on religon.
June 19, 2018
This is a book I would recommend everyone read, it will begin important conversations.
March 2, 2019
Very compassionate, helpful and well written book. I liked that it was written from an Australian perspective
May 11, 2019
This is a very practical and compassionate book about preparing for and carrying out end of life medical decisions. Everyone should read it.
May 8, 2021
Breaks down what to consider and why it's important to plan ahead, through a good balance of real cases and research and personal experience.
February 10, 2024
An insightful exploration of the workings of end of life care in Australian hospitals. With brutal honesty this play book clearly guides people in how to best ensure they get what they want at the end of this life. This is always a neglected, sensitive, ignored subject and the author uses his invaluable knowledge and experiences to unmask the truth.
At times a little detailed, disjointed and convoluted, with understandably little reference to State differences. Written before voluntary assisted dying, but still relevant to public and health professionals alike, with good teaching points for junior doctors. The real life stories in italics clearly demonstrate the points raised.
Good summaries and explanations of thought processes of all sides, will prove invaluable for individuals, health professionals and families.
At times a little detailed, disjointed and convoluted, with understandably little reference to State differences. Written before voluntary assisted dying, but still relevant to public and health professionals alike, with good teaching points for junior doctors. The real life stories in italics clearly demonstrate the points raised.
Good summaries and explanations of thought processes of all sides, will prove invaluable for individuals, health professionals and families.
Read
May 25, 2018How Healing Works is radically and disruptively brilliant. Highly recommended.
Dean Ornish, MD, Founder and President of Preventative Medicine Research Institute, Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Fransisco, and Author of The Spectrum
By sharing his courageous personal journey as a physician, from skeptic to researcher to informed advocate, Dr. Wayne Jonas provides a compelling case for completely re-thinking our nation’s approach to health care. Rising financial and societal health-care costs make this book a must read.
Gail C. Christopher, DN, ND, Board Chair of Trust for America’s Health, Former Senior Advisor and Vice President of W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Outstanding! A must read for anyone with chronic disease and the clinicians who care for them. This is true health-care reform.
Don Berwick, MD, Former Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Co-Founder and President Emeritus of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement
The one book all national leaders must read this year. Full of stories of how heroes heal when they come home and how every family who has a person with chronic disease, can also be that hero.
Retired Admiral Michael Mullen
Dr. Wayne Jonas issues a clarion call for medical practice and health care that we cannot afford to ignore. A compelling case is made for a more balanced approach to health care in which the impressive gains from science are matched with attention to equally powerful, but often ignored, processes of healing. Dr. Jonas brings to bear a lifetime’s knowledge of evidence-based medicine, to which he has been a major contributor, with extensive professional experience of how people heal. This book is essential reading; it is recommended for health-care professionals and anyone who is interested in achieving optimal health.
Jonathan Davidson, MD, Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center
How Healing Works is a brilliant contribution. The wisdom that Dr. Jonas shares lies at the heart of modern nursing: how meaning, love, caring, empathy, and compassion facilitate the healing process.
Barbara Dossey, RN, PHD, FAAN, Author of Holistic Nursing
A breakthrough book! It should be read by every clinician and business leader. With compelling stories and rigorous science, Dr. Jonas shows us what we all know but have forgotten — that the healing of mind and body are inseparable.
Kenneth R. Pelletier, PHD, MD, Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Fransisco, Director, Corporate Health Improvement Program, and Author of Sound Mind, Sound Body
Dr. Jonas makes compelling arguments for a new paradigm in medicine that addresses the inner, interpersonal, and external dimensions where true healing takes place. How Healing Works provides an urgently needed blueprint for a new approach to medicine.
James Lake, MD, Former Chair, American Psychiatric Association Caucus on Complementary, Alternative & Integrative Medicine and Author, Integrative Mental Health Care
Dr. Jonas shifts the dialogue in How Healing Works to exactly what health care needs. As someone who works in the daily struggle to make health care better, I know firsthand that this book is a must for those interested in being leaders in health and healing. Understanding the balance of healing and curing is a needed combination for greater well-being. I recommend it to all who seek to help patients with any disease, and to the rest of us who may become patients some day.
Scott Kashman, Chief Acute Care Officer, Lee Health
How Healing Works is the most comprehensive and comprehensible book on how and why people heal. It is a masterful survey of the research on the physical, psychological, and spiritual factors that help us regain and retain our health. Dr. Wayne Jonas is one of America’s top docs, a true leader in medicine, who deeply understands the ins and outs of getting well. After reading How Healing Works share it with your physician.
Larry Dossey, MD, Author of One Mind
In the polarised, non-integrative era twenty-five years ago — the earliest days of introducing natural health and integrative practices into regular care — the arrival on the scene of a healer advocate for a more balanced medicine, who happened to be both army officer and medical doctor, was a great gift. What some of us did not yet know was that Wayne Jonas, then an emerging leader at the National Institutes of Health and in federal policy, incorporated healing practices and traditions from across the globe into his work to understand, bridge, and transform.
John Weeks, Editor-in-Chief, The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine; Publisher, The Integrator Blog
Wayne Jonas distills a lifetime of research, teaching, caring for patients, emotional growth, and inquiry into this wise, generous, and useful offering. He asks the toughest questions and responds in clear, accessible language. He invites us with him on an intimate journey as he presents with candour and courage his own evolution and the remarkable stories of those who have taught him so much about the mysteries of healing, hidden in plain sight. This is required reading for everyone interested in understanding and unleashing our untapped healing potential.
Joseph Borrow, Roshi, PHD, Author of Waking Up From War
Wayne Jonas is a scientist, physician, teacher, storyteller, and, ultimately, a healer. His book uses a wide lens to examine how healing is not only pharmaceuticals and surgery but involves environmental, behavioural, social/emotional, and cognitive/spiritual dimensions. How Healing Works is provocative, engaging, and informative and encourages the reader in their own healing.
Ted Kaptchuk, Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Dr. Wayne Jonas provides us with inspiring and comprehensive guidance for our well-being. He integrates advances in science and technology for addressing illness and promoting health, along with the inner resources we have for healing. With examples from around the world, he invites us to actively participate in holistic healthful approaches — so essential for our times.
Monica Sharma, Author of Radical Transformational Leadership, Chair Professor, TATA Institute of Social Sciences, India, and Former Director of Leadership and Capacity Development, United Nations
A careful scientist and a compassionate clinician, Jonas integrates the best of mainstream and alternative medical systems and provides a pragmatic and comprehensive approach that can transform how patients and clinicians approach healing.
Ronald Epstein, MD, Author of Attending
Dean Ornish, MD, Founder and President of Preventative Medicine Research Institute, Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Fransisco, and Author of The Spectrum
By sharing his courageous personal journey as a physician, from skeptic to researcher to informed advocate, Dr. Wayne Jonas provides a compelling case for completely re-thinking our nation’s approach to health care. Rising financial and societal health-care costs make this book a must read.
Gail C. Christopher, DN, ND, Board Chair of Trust for America’s Health, Former Senior Advisor and Vice President of W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Outstanding! A must read for anyone with chronic disease and the clinicians who care for them. This is true health-care reform.
Don Berwick, MD, Former Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Co-Founder and President Emeritus of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement
The one book all national leaders must read this year. Full of stories of how heroes heal when they come home and how every family who has a person with chronic disease, can also be that hero.
Retired Admiral Michael Mullen
Dr. Wayne Jonas issues a clarion call for medical practice and health care that we cannot afford to ignore. A compelling case is made for a more balanced approach to health care in which the impressive gains from science are matched with attention to equally powerful, but often ignored, processes of healing. Dr. Jonas brings to bear a lifetime’s knowledge of evidence-based medicine, to which he has been a major contributor, with extensive professional experience of how people heal. This book is essential reading; it is recommended for health-care professionals and anyone who is interested in achieving optimal health.
Jonathan Davidson, MD, Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center
How Healing Works is a brilliant contribution. The wisdom that Dr. Jonas shares lies at the heart of modern nursing: how meaning, love, caring, empathy, and compassion facilitate the healing process.
Barbara Dossey, RN, PHD, FAAN, Author of Holistic Nursing
A breakthrough book! It should be read by every clinician and business leader. With compelling stories and rigorous science, Dr. Jonas shows us what we all know but have forgotten — that the healing of mind and body are inseparable.
Kenneth R. Pelletier, PHD, MD, Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Fransisco, Director, Corporate Health Improvement Program, and Author of Sound Mind, Sound Body
Dr. Jonas makes compelling arguments for a new paradigm in medicine that addresses the inner, interpersonal, and external dimensions where true healing takes place. How Healing Works provides an urgently needed blueprint for a new approach to medicine.
James Lake, MD, Former Chair, American Psychiatric Association Caucus on Complementary, Alternative & Integrative Medicine and Author, Integrative Mental Health Care
Dr. Jonas shifts the dialogue in How Healing Works to exactly what health care needs. As someone who works in the daily struggle to make health care better, I know firsthand that this book is a must for those interested in being leaders in health and healing. Understanding the balance of healing and curing is a needed combination for greater well-being. I recommend it to all who seek to help patients with any disease, and to the rest of us who may become patients some day.
Scott Kashman, Chief Acute Care Officer, Lee Health
How Healing Works is the most comprehensive and comprehensible book on how and why people heal. It is a masterful survey of the research on the physical, psychological, and spiritual factors that help us regain and retain our health. Dr. Wayne Jonas is one of America’s top docs, a true leader in medicine, who deeply understands the ins and outs of getting well. After reading How Healing Works share it with your physician.
Larry Dossey, MD, Author of One Mind
In the polarised, non-integrative era twenty-five years ago — the earliest days of introducing natural health and integrative practices into regular care — the arrival on the scene of a healer advocate for a more balanced medicine, who happened to be both army officer and medical doctor, was a great gift. What some of us did not yet know was that Wayne Jonas, then an emerging leader at the National Institutes of Health and in federal policy, incorporated healing practices and traditions from across the globe into his work to understand, bridge, and transform.
John Weeks, Editor-in-Chief, The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine; Publisher, The Integrator Blog
Wayne Jonas distills a lifetime of research, teaching, caring for patients, emotional growth, and inquiry into this wise, generous, and useful offering. He asks the toughest questions and responds in clear, accessible language. He invites us with him on an intimate journey as he presents with candour and courage his own evolution and the remarkable stories of those who have taught him so much about the mysteries of healing, hidden in plain sight. This is required reading for everyone interested in understanding and unleashing our untapped healing potential.
Joseph Borrow, Roshi, PHD, Author of Waking Up From War
Wayne Jonas is a scientist, physician, teacher, storyteller, and, ultimately, a healer. His book uses a wide lens to examine how healing is not only pharmaceuticals and surgery but involves environmental, behavioural, social/emotional, and cognitive/spiritual dimensions. How Healing Works is provocative, engaging, and informative and encourages the reader in their own healing.
Ted Kaptchuk, Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Dr. Wayne Jonas provides us with inspiring and comprehensive guidance for our well-being. He integrates advances in science and technology for addressing illness and promoting health, along with the inner resources we have for healing. With examples from around the world, he invites us to actively participate in holistic healthful approaches — so essential for our times.
Monica Sharma, Author of Radical Transformational Leadership, Chair Professor, TATA Institute of Social Sciences, India, and Former Director of Leadership and Capacity Development, United Nations
A careful scientist and a compassionate clinician, Jonas integrates the best of mainstream and alternative medical systems and provides a pragmatic and comprehensive approach that can transform how patients and clinicians approach healing.
Ronald Epstein, MD, Author of Attending
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews