Like many of the people I know, I can tell you stories of how cancer and other terminal illnesses have affected people I know and have loved. The sappy person inside of me decided I really wanted to read this after months of following the author on Tik Toc lol.
This book is written by a Hospice nurse Hadley Vlashos gives you an inside look at the similarities our loved ones experience in the end and how they will have something to teach right up to that moment.
With each chapter, Hadley introduces you to another person you will fall in love with to the point that the end of each chapter will leave you in tears. Now don’t get me wrong it’s sad but it’s also uplifting and loving and full of joy and peace so not all those tears you shed will be from sadness.
If you have ever seen Hadley’s social media you know she has always been pretty open about her life and where she is and how she got there and all the things she has learned in between, this book is even more of that.
Not only does she focus on her patients and their end-of-life experiences but she talks about her struggles with love and tragedy, and being unsure if she was heading in the right direction and having no idea how she was going to make it through.
The religion talk is limited but it’s also addressed in all the right ways. This book has given me an inside look at the life of a hospice nurse and I am in awe of the things they do for those around them who just want to die in the comfort of their own home surrounded by those they want to be around.
I want to end this book talk with two things. One; go buy the book and tissues. Two; thank you to all of the hospice nurses out there making this world a better place for those on their way out and all their loved ones.
While I still don’t have all the answers, the one thing I can tell you for certain is that there are things that defy medical explanation, and that in between here and whatever comes next, there is something peaceful and powerful. I’ve seen it with my own eyes, time and time again.
Hadley Vlahos, RN
