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Final Journeys: A Practical Guide for Bringing Care and Comfort at the End of Life
For more than two decades, hospice nurse Maggie Callanan has tended to the terminally ill and been a cornerstone of support for their loved ones. Now the coauthor of the classic bestseller Final Gifts passes along the lessons she has learned from the experts—her patients. Here is the guide we all need to understanding the special needs of the dying and those who care for them.
In her work with thousands of families, Maggie Callanan has witnessed the tears, the love—and the confusion and conflict—this final passage can evoke. Now, with honesty, compassion, and even humor, she empowers patients and their families to write the last chapter of their lives with less fear, less pain, and more control—so that all involved can focus their energies on creating the best possible ending.
From supporting a husband or wife faced with the loss of a spouse, to helping a dying mother prepare her children to carry on without her, Callanan’s poignant stories illustrate new ways to meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual challenges of this difficult and precious time. She brings welcome clarity to medical and ethical concerns, explaining what to expect at every stage. Each brief chapter also conveys a home truth about making crucial treatment decisions, supporting the patient’s dignity and individuality, and lightening the burden on caregivers.
Final Journeys is designed to be your companion, resource, and advocate. From diagnosis through the final hours, it will help you keep the lines of communication open, get the help you need, and create the peaceful end we all hope for.
From the Hardcover edition.
In her work with thousands of families, Maggie Callanan has witnessed the tears, the love—and the confusion and conflict—this final passage can evoke. Now, with honesty, compassion, and even humor, she empowers patients and their families to write the last chapter of their lives with less fear, less pain, and more control—so that all involved can focus their energies on creating the best possible ending.
From supporting a husband or wife faced with the loss of a spouse, to helping a dying mother prepare her children to carry on without her, Callanan’s poignant stories illustrate new ways to meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual challenges of this difficult and precious time. She brings welcome clarity to medical and ethical concerns, explaining what to expect at every stage. Each brief chapter also conveys a home truth about making crucial treatment decisions, supporting the patient’s dignity and individuality, and lightening the burden on caregivers.
Final Journeys is designed to be your companion, resource, and advocate. From diagnosis through the final hours, it will help you keep the lines of communication open, get the help you need, and create the peaceful end we all hope for.
From the Hardcover edition.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published March 25, 2007
89 people are currently reading
317 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
February 5, 2015
The author of this book has been a hospice nurse for over two decades, and in this book, she passes along the lessons she has learned from the patients she has cared for, and their families. She shares their stories with honesty, compassion, and at times, with humor. She empowers patients and their families to face the time of dying with less fear, less pain, and more control; her stories illustrate how to meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual challenges faced at a such a difficult time.
I read this book from the standpoint of someone living with a terminal disease, (I have stage IV breast cancer), and while I did find some aspects of this book helpful, I think it's the families and loved ones of the patients who will get the most of out of this book, especially if they are in the role of being a caregiver. This book is an excellent resource for helping them to cope and to know what to expect.
I read this book from the standpoint of someone living with a terminal disease, (I have stage IV breast cancer), and while I did find some aspects of this book helpful, I think it's the families and loved ones of the patients who will get the most of out of this book, especially if they are in the role of being a caregiver. This book is an excellent resource for helping them to cope and to know what to expect.
September 12, 2024
It took me a while to finish this as I had begun reading this book for my Dying, Grief, and Bereavement class. Maggie Callahan discusses the multiple stages of grief and her personal experience as a hospice nurse. She provides helpful tips when providing support to families who a loved one is dying and how to support the dying. It was a beautiful book written in stories that made it captivating. This book has changed my perspective in how I provide support to those who are dying and to their loved ones.
January 29, 2015
Maggie Callanan, along with Patricia Kelley, wrote “Final Gifts”, a groundbreaking book about how people die. “Final Journeys” is a companion book and focuses on the care giver’s role and how they can best help the dying and take care of themselves at the same time. She explains how entering hospice care is not ‘giving up’, what paperwork the dying (which is all of us, really) should have completed to make things easier for themselves and their loved ones, that it’s okay for the dying and the family to laugh and joke, and why you shouldn’t call 911 if the person does not want aggressive resuscitation.
Callanan is a veteran hospice nurse with 27 years of experience working with the dying at the time she wrote this book. She’s helped innumerable families as a member passes on, and has seen all sorts of scenarios. In this book, she answers a lot of the questions that people have about giving care to a family member facing death. She doesn’t just dwell on the dying person, but on what the care giver experiences; how different people react to the impending death of a loved one; how they grieve; and various options for end of life care. The book is written in an easy to read style, even when dealing with medical details. I’m not a stranger to caregiving and dealing with death and I learned a lot from this book, especially about family dynamics.
Callanan is a veteran hospice nurse with 27 years of experience working with the dying at the time she wrote this book. She’s helped innumerable families as a member passes on, and has seen all sorts of scenarios. In this book, she answers a lot of the questions that people have about giving care to a family member facing death. She doesn’t just dwell on the dying person, but on what the care giver experiences; how different people react to the impending death of a loved one; how they grieve; and various options for end of life care. The book is written in an easy to read style, even when dealing with medical details. I’m not a stranger to caregiving and dealing with death and I learned a lot from this book, especially about family dynamics.
October 21, 2009
Just like Maggie Callanan's other book Final Gifts Understanding the Special Awareness, Needs and Communications of the Dying this book was well written and sensitively presented. We all will face dying at some point, no one is immune, and if you have any questions about what "the final journey" might be like I would suggest this book. Warning: have a box of tissues close by. I lost my significant other in 1995 to pancreatic cancer, he had just turned 45 (I was 43). Up until that time I had not read anything about death and dying. Since then I have read many books on thanatology. Final Journeys A Practical Guide for Bringing Care and Comfort at the End of Life is one of the best that I have read so far.
September 13, 2013
This is a must-own book because one reading will not give the full impact of all the wisdom contained in Maggie Callanan's imminently practical guide to the one sure journey of life.
The book has been carefully planned with clear sections which each contain valuable advice on how to deal with various aspects of dying. Although this book is primarily aimed at caretakers, even those of us in robust health can learn a little something about our own final journey.
What I particularly like about this book that it is in no way preachy or somber. It is almost paradoxically about living more than dying and how the final section of life can be full of kindness, compassion and a great deal of love, if we are prepared to embrace all these possibilities.
Be adventurous Gentle Reader and learn, for as Maggie's father says, "One out of one dies."
The book has been carefully planned with clear sections which each contain valuable advice on how to deal with various aspects of dying. Although this book is primarily aimed at caretakers, even those of us in robust health can learn a little something about our own final journey.
What I particularly like about this book that it is in no way preachy or somber. It is almost paradoxically about living more than dying and how the final section of life can be full of kindness, compassion and a great deal of love, if we are prepared to embrace all these possibilities.
Be adventurous Gentle Reader and learn, for as Maggie's father says, "One out of one dies."
September 5, 2017
My goodness what a wonderful, heartfelt, informative and beautiful book about one of life's greatest mysteries: the human reality and experience of dying.
How lucky we are that the author's father suggested that because we all need help in understanding the dying journey his palliative care nurse and daughter should share her wisdom. The result? A profoundly helpful and deeply human book and a gift to everyone facing this part of our shared journey.
During the recent dying of a loved one, I found enormous insight throughout the book, but especially in the advice to suspend medications that caused unnecessary distress, to experience the dying as a magnification of the how my loved one had lived life, and to fully embrace the "new normal" of a situation that was anything but normal.
Highly recommended. It will open your heart and give you ease.
How lucky we are that the author's father suggested that because we all need help in understanding the dying journey his palliative care nurse and daughter should share her wisdom. The result? A profoundly helpful and deeply human book and a gift to everyone facing this part of our shared journey.
During the recent dying of a loved one, I found enormous insight throughout the book, but especially in the advice to suspend medications that caused unnecessary distress, to experience the dying as a magnification of the how my loved one had lived life, and to fully embrace the "new normal" of a situation that was anything but normal.
Highly recommended. It will open your heart and give you ease.
January 28, 2017
This is the best book I've found to date for anyone dealing with a terminal illness, and I strongly recommend it for anyone who is terminal, as well as their family and friends. It should be required reading for all medical professionals, and on the lending shelves of every library, hospice, cancer agency and medical facility.
The author is an experienced hospice nurse, and while she's writing from an American medical system, the issues and insights she details are universal.
This book was necessary to help me come to terms with a loved one's terminal condition, and helped him make serious decisions about his health care.
I've read it twice already and will be reading it again. I've bought copies for friends and family members, and to donate.
The author is an experienced hospice nurse, and while she's writing from an American medical system, the issues and insights she details are universal.
This book was necessary to help me come to terms with a loved one's terminal condition, and helped him make serious decisions about his health care.
I've read it twice already and will be reading it again. I've bought copies for friends and family members, and to donate.
July 14, 2013
This is an amazing book that makes the typically taboo subject of death and dying less scary. Maggie Callanan so gracefully addresses dying people and their families with such care and compassion. I hope when my journey comes to an end (nothing is wrong, but as she says, one out of one of us will die at some point in our life" ), I'll have someone like her guiding me and my family through the process. She is brilliant and must have a heart of gold!
December 27, 2016
This book was just what I needed to read when my Dad was dying. It provided so much wisdom and comfort and guidance for me as I navigated his illness and death. He passed while I was reading it but I was able to skip to the end to continue to receive encouragement for the journey ahead. Thank you for writing an amazing book and for doing the important work of a hospice nurse. This is a must read for anyone with a loved one in hospice care.
June 2, 2015
I recommend this book to everyone. I wish I read this book in my late teens. I would have been so much more prepared for what came in my 20's. Death is inevitable for ourselves and our loved ones. Having knowledge of what to expect can help keep perspective and enrich the process.
July 3, 2019
A very good book about death and dying, and conveys her experience with hospice regarding things like: what to say, what to expect, etc. At the end of each chapter are some "Bottom Line" assessments. The one I like best is: Silence does not spare or protect, it isolates and causes loneliness.
June 11, 2020
One of the best books on death, dying, and hospice I have ever read. Nurses are often more permeable to spirituality than physicians, and that willingness to discuss their patients' spiritual needs without advocating any specific religious system makes this book stand out.
April 18, 2011
Strongly recommended for anyone experiencing a loved one's terminal illness. Based on Callanan's 20+ years of hospice work this book is full of meaningful insights and wisdom.
June 22, 2024
5 stars for what it was. it’s a helpful guide to understand what the families and patients of hospice are going through so that i can provide better emotional type support. it also provides a lot of insight into family dynamics, friendships, and what it means to die on hospice in general, all of which are reflected and magnified in my experience at the home. i think something that rly stood out to me both in this book and in my own experience now is how people die as they lived, but magnified. maybe not alwyas a good thing but it comforts me to know that death is still a personal experience. i wanna die as myself and my personality. some of the stories were hard to read and sad, some were heartwarming. working at the hospice home will be like 1000x that. but this was a good read for what i’m doing
November 22, 2022
I had read Final Gifts at the time my mother was dying a number of years ago and had found it helpful. Now, with one friend who is undergoing cancer treatments, a neighbor who is very Ill, and several elder friends, I wanted to reread it. I saw this newer book by Maggie Callanan and thought it might be even better. I was not disappointed. Filled with many stories from her years as a Hospice nurse, and arranged in short chapters, it’s easy to read short chunks or to pick and choose what seems most appropriate for your situation.
I highly recommend this book for anyone with friends, neighbors or family members who are ill or dying. Another excellent book to read in tandem with this is Being Mortal by Atul Gawande. Don’t miss either if these excellent books!
I highly recommend this book for anyone with friends, neighbors or family members who are ill or dying. Another excellent book to read in tandem with this is Being Mortal by Atul Gawande. Don’t miss either if these excellent books!
April 22, 2024
A truly heartfelt and helpful guide to taking care of our loved ones as they are dying. This has been so practical to me as I care for my mother-in-law with terminal cancer and try to apply these lessons to myself, to her, and to my husband and the rest of the family as we go through this together. It has more advice than Final Gifts (also a very good book) and feels more like a How To, which I appreciated because I really needed someone to tell me how to do this.
November 25, 2022
“Dying people do not ask us to analyze, diagnose, or solve their problems. They ask us to understand their anguish and be willing to listen and share their journey, good and bad, as far as we can.”
For BCSSW course SCWK8831: Dying, Grief, & Bereavement.
For BCSSW course SCWK8831: Dying, Grief, & Bereavement.
August 12, 2025
Callanan has such a deep understanding for EOL care - in her readings I can feel myself brought into the experiences of similar situations comforted knowing I led with care and expertise or explain retrospectively what i missed in the moment
November 12, 2017
Inspiring at times, self-absorbed at others. This author loves playing savior, and it shows so I’m her writing.
July 12, 2018
Lots of helpful information on a wide variety of subjects from emotional reactions to dying and caring for the dying (from both sides), to clinical signs of approaching death, to grief.
November 2, 2018
meh...some helpful information, especially in the appendices, but the writing is very much in the style of chicken stup for the soul...maudlin and shallow
September 19, 2019
You can read my full review here... https://www.reviewthisreviews.com/201...
June 28, 2020
This book is as wonderful as the first one, "Final Gifts". And as "Final Gifts", I would give it many more stars than just five.
Do have a box of tissues handy.
Do have a box of tissues handy.
December 20, 2020
A hospice nurses reflections and advice to those facing death and the people around them. Some valuable material. 3-1/2 stars.
September 1, 2023
An amazing resource for those working with older adults transitioning to the next life.
January 13, 2025
This book was very informative and gave good examples, advice and true stories. I enjoyed it
March 11, 2025
Excellent with great examples of how to care for others.
Read
December 14, 2025Didn’t finish. Too many death books at the time.
May 17, 2022
Full of anecdotes of bedside experiences of an experienced hospice nurse. I learned about the immense benefits and support that hospice can provide for a dying person and their caregivers. This book also introduced me to the phenomenon of Nearing Death Awareness, which I had never even heard about before. Ultimately this was a very comforting book that removed the shroud from some things that people will go to great lengths not to talk about in our society.
May 25, 2021
My mother just passed away on hospice.
This book was the most practical and helpful that I read during that time besides “Final Gifts” which focuses on communication of the dying. I am a nurse and this was my first experience with “natural death” not someone dying because CPR didn’t work or because their family decided it was time to take them off the ventilator. I didn’t have labs or scans to tell me how my mom’s illness was progressing. We just had guesses of what was causing her symptoms and medication to manage them. Hospice did a wonderful job, but I was her caregiver and she often asked me what was coming next. I often referred back to chapters of this book and takes to mom about them so she knew what to expect to (in a general sense).
This book also helped me to see when things were getting closer even when others didn’t see it. It was a great comfort to me and I recommend it heartily to others in the same terrible predicament as myself. In the end she had the most beautiful death. For her it was a gentle slide, for the caregivers it was difficult to watch her slowly get weaker and less responsive. In the end my mom and this book were both the best teachers about life’s full cycle and how to do dying well: at home and surrounded by those you love and who love you. I was able to give back so much of the love and care she had given to me for all my years and I’m so grateful to have had that time with her at the end.
This book was the most practical and helpful that I read during that time besides “Final Gifts” which focuses on communication of the dying. I am a nurse and this was my first experience with “natural death” not someone dying because CPR didn’t work or because their family decided it was time to take them off the ventilator. I didn’t have labs or scans to tell me how my mom’s illness was progressing. We just had guesses of what was causing her symptoms and medication to manage them. Hospice did a wonderful job, but I was her caregiver and she often asked me what was coming next. I often referred back to chapters of this book and takes to mom about them so she knew what to expect to (in a general sense).
This book also helped me to see when things were getting closer even when others didn’t see it. It was a great comfort to me and I recommend it heartily to others in the same terrible predicament as myself. In the end she had the most beautiful death. For her it was a gentle slide, for the caregivers it was difficult to watch her slowly get weaker and less responsive. In the end my mom and this book were both the best teachers about life’s full cycle and how to do dying well: at home and surrounded by those you love and who love you. I was able to give back so much of the love and care she had given to me for all my years and I’m so grateful to have had that time with her at the end.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews