BJ Miller, MD, is a hospice and palliative medicine physician who has worked in many settings--inpatient, outpatient, hospice facility, and home--and now sees patients and families at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. Miller speaks all over the country and beyond on the theme of living well in the face of death. He has been profiled in The New York Times and interviewed by Oprah Winfrey, Tim Ferriss, and Krista Tippett.
Shoshana Berger is the editorial director at IDEO, where she has worked on projects ranging from the end of life to modern Judaism to school lunch. She was a senior editor at WIRED, and has written for the New York Times, Fast Company, Time, WIRED, Popular Science, Marie Claire, and Quartz. She cofounded the DIY design magazine, ReadyMade, later turning it into a book, Ready Made: How to Make (Almost) Everything.
"A Beginner's Guide to the End is honest, funny, luminous, and
essential. Full of real-world advice and hard-won insight, it's a
practical guide to dying that is actually much more about
living."
-- Lucy Kalanithi, author of the epilogue to When Breath Becomes
Air by Paul Kalanithi
"'You know what would be fun today? Reading a book about death, '
said no one ever. So you can imagine my surprise when I opened
these pages and found myself smiling on the first one. BJ Miller
and Shoshana Berger have done something impressive: they're written
a book about dying that's not only moving and practical, but also
delightful to read."
-- Adam Grant, co-author of Option B and author of Give and Take
and Originals
"A gentle, knowledgeable guide to a fate we all share."
-- The Washington Post
"I wish I'd had this book when I needed it. Death and dying are not
subjects that many people are comfortable talking about, but it's
hugely important to be as prepared as you can be--emotionally,
physically, practically, financially, and spiritually. This book
may be the most important guide you could have."
-- Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Big Magic and Eat Pray Love
"If you are sure you would never read a book about how to face
death, especially long before you need it, A Beginner's Guide to
the End: Practical Advice for Living Life and Facing Death just
might convince you it wouldn't be bad to have on the shelf... The
book blends practical information with compassionate advice for
facing our own death or the death of a loved one."
-- Next Avenue
"Miller and Berger, through their honesty and deep experience, help
us to live the best life possible with a serious illness. This is a
beautiful, poignant, expert, and human handbook for all of us."
-- Susan Block, MD, Professor of Psychiatry and Medicine, Harvard
Medical School
"The combined wisdom of a legendary hospice physician together with
a journalist and experienced caregiver makes this book feel like a
loving friend who is by our side with practical advice on the
medical, legal, logistical, and emotional aspects of an event that
awaits us all. This is a book that every family should have, the
equivalent of Dr. Spock but for this other phase of life."
-- Abraham Verghese, author of Cutting for Stone
"There are many times in my personal life and my medical education
when I could have used this book. In their clear and compelling
guide, Miller and Berger help us understand how to approach one of
the most important but least understood phases of our life. Their
honest reflections and sharp insights will change lives for the
better."
-- Vivek Murthy, MD, former Surgeon General of the United
States
"When it comes to the final journey, we are all beginners.
Navigating the complexities of serious illness requires grace and
grit. With elegant simplicity and tender, earthy honesty, this
beginner's guide explains how to prepare, what possible routes you
might take, mis-turns to avoid, and the beauty you might see along
the way."
-- Ira Byock, MD, Founder & Chief Medical Director, Institute for
Human Caring
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