Graceful Exit

This is a book that I read a while back and it was very relevant to me with all that went on in my life over the last two years. 

Graceful Exit: How to Advocate Effectively, Take Care of Yourself, and Be Present for the Death of a Loved One

Book description :

When we are thrust into the role of caregiver for a loved one who is in the process of dying, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Yet it’s a situation millions of us face every year with virtually no sort of preparation or guidance. With Graceful Exit, Dr. Gustavo Ferrer offers an all-in-one resource for anyone tasked with managing the end-of-life care of a loved one.

Dr. Ferrer shares the essential steps we need to take in a way that can be tailored to our unique situation. Through checklists, plans, and step-by-step instructions reflecting his years of experience supporting patients and their families, Dr. Ferrer offers clear and compassionate guidance for the most difficult issues, including:

• What are your rights under Medicare and health insurance?
• When should you bring your family together?
• How can you be a caregiver without burning yourself out?
• What are the pros and cons of advanced medical treatment versus hospice at each end-of-life stage?
• Most importantly, how do we say goodbye in a way that brings healing, closure, and peace?

It’s the last news we want to hear—that someone we love is dying. Yet it’s an inevitable part of life. With Graceful Exit, Dr. Ferrer offers this much-needed guide through the medical, legal, financial, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of dying and death.

The Author :

Gustavo Ferrer, MD FCCP, is an experienced pulmonologist trained both in Cuba and the US, founder of the Cleveland Clinic Florida Cough Clinic, Interstitial Lung Disease and president of Intensive Care Experts. An authority on respiratory ailments with more than 20 years of experience. His new book, Graceful Exit: How to Advocate Effectively, Take Care of Yourself, and Be Present for the Death of a Loved One, available now for preorder.

He also wrote, Cough Cures: The Best Natural Remedies and Over-the-Counter Drugs for Acute and Chronic Cough (Moxie Life Press, April 2016) challenges our Western mindset that over medicates. Dr. Ferrer offers a blend of Western and natural remedies to effectively address both acute and chronic respiratory issues. He has also translated Cough Cures into Spanish for Latin America titled Cura Tu Tos con los Remedios de Abuelita: Una Guía Completa de los Mejores Remedios Naturales y Medicinas Sin Receta Médica Para la Tos Aguda y Crónica (Moxie Life Press, October 2016).

In 1999, he left Cuba to work with the United Nations University to work as director of respiratory research in the Venezuela’s Orinoco River region. He emigrated to the United States the following year, where he completed his residency at Texas Tech University and received a fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care at George Washington University. He joined the Cleveland Clinic Florida and led efforts to open centers of excellence for lung fibrosis and chronic cough.

Dr. Ferrer left the Cleveland Clinic in 2013 to establish Intensive Care Experts, a practice dedicated to bringing high-quality medical advancements to acute care hospitals, long-term care hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and home-care patients. In December 2016, he was appointed as one of the board members for the NCQA’s Geriatric Measurement Advisory Panel. He continues to be actively involved in medical research for the advancement of medicine and patient care. He is the Program Director of the Aventura Hospital Pulmonary and Critical Care and Pulmonary Disease.

He has received several prestigious awards, including: being listed among the Best Doctors in the US by U.S. News & World Report, Most Compassionate Doctor, Patients’ Choice Award, and multiple teaching awards. He has been featured in USA Today, NBC News, CNN en Español, Huffington Post, Health Times, Doctors Channel, Doctors Show Sirius XM, Miami Herald, Fox News, Telemundo and many more.

My review: 4/ 5

While the examples are American and some of the procedures and laws don’t apply to India, what came through very strongly is the need to discuss issues relating to one’s passing before you fall terminally ill. Conversations like these are hard. But they must be had and should always be followed up by inking your wishes and following the due process to make them legal.

We had a lot of confusion around my parents’ care giving when before they passed which resulted in broken relationships.

I would recommend this book to every one – especially older folk or younger ones with aging parents.