Absolutely Delicious

Name: Absolutely Delicious
SKU: 9781838112400
Price: 209 SEK
Availability: InStock
Author: Alison Jean Lester
ISBN: 9781838112400

A Chronicle of Extraordinary Dying

Häftad, Engelska, 2020

AvAlison Jean Lester

209 kr

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After a life marbled with exploration, academia, and domesticity, the writer Valerie Lester retired to a residential hospice and set about enjoying the final act of her life. Yes. Enjoying. She knew just where she wanted to be, with whom, doing what, and she communicated this to her family and friends with clarity and consistency. She died nine weeks later, having engaged in dying with equanimity, curiosity, and even amusement.Absolutely Delicious: A Chronicle of Extraordinary Dying describes the months novelist Alison Jean Lester spent with her mother. Motivated to write the book because of how her mother faced the fact that her cancer was terminal, and how she chose to approach the end of her life with the same positive energy with which she had lived, Lester shares the emotional, medical, logistical and social aspects of this extraordinary experience. The book also includes a chapter on the death of her father, who faced his own terminal illness, ALS (motor neurone disease), with a similar rejection of extreme life-prolonging measures and with the desire to spend his final days in peace, nine years before. There is a chapter, too, on Lester's aunt, who died three months after her mother, having taken a very different approach to the idea, and the reality, of dying. Woven into the narrative are poems both by the author and her mother, as they shared the impulse to grapple with life's challenges through poetry. The book is interspersed with diverse, emotional illustrations by artist and graphic designer Mary Ann Frye. A good friend of both the author and her mother, Frye processed the death of her friend in drawings while the author was processing it in words.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2020-10-22
Mått152 x 229 x 11 mm
Vikt281 g
FormatHäftad
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor188
FörlagBench Press
IllustratörMary Ann Frye
ISBN9781838112400

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Alison Jean Lester is the author of the novels 'Lillian on Life' and 'Yuki Means Happiness', and the short story collection 'Locked Out: Stories Far from Home'. She spent her early life in the US and the UK, and pursued her higher education in the US, China and Italy. She lived in Japan from 1991 to 1999, working as a freelance writer and voiceover artist, and giving birth to her two children. From 1999 to 2016 she lived in Singapore, where she ran her own communication skills training and coaching business. She now lives in England.

'The book encapsulates, in the very best way, how we ultimately consist of our relationships and effects on other people, and how dying can be a very beautiful event.'; - Kate Edgar, Executive Director, The Oliver Sacks Foundation;; 'Absolutely Delicious is like a gift. It is tender, light-footed, funny, painful and gallant, and in writing with courage and wit about dying well, Lester has written about living well.'; - Nicci Gerrard, Novelist and author of What Dementia Teaches Us about Love;; 'Compelling, moving, brave, and unflinching.'; - Neal Baer, MD, Producer and writer of ER, Law & Order Special Victims Unit and Designated Survivor;; 'If you fear death or are in denial of the inevitable, this book is for you. Using the power of stories, poems, and art, Absolutely Delicious demonstrates with care and empathy the breadth of ways people can die on their own terms, and the impact that journey can have on their loved ones. Lester reminds the reader of the universality of death by offering an honest portrayal of three approaches to living one’s last days, providing the space for each of us to consider our own priorities, helping to pave the way toward realizing our own compassionate end.'; - Kim Callinan, President and CEO, Compassion & Choices;;'In chronicling her mother's terminal illness, Lester shows us something rare and wonderful: that facing the end of life can be done with directness, equanimity, and humor. As a palliative care physician I've read countless stories about dying patients but none as engaging and original as this, opening my eyes to what's possible for future patients and families I care for.'; - Jane deLima Thomas, MD, Palliative Care Physician, Harvard Medical School;; 'This masterfully written and illustrated narrative arrives at a very important time, striking the bullseye dead on. It will resonate on many levels with readers, be they supporting someone dying, or dying themselves. A terrific read.'; - John K. Erban, MD. Professor of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Former Clinical and Assoc Director for Clinical Research, Tufts Medical Center Cancer Center;; 'In this memoir, Lester thoughtfully captures the emotional roller coaster of the loss of two parents and one aunt. I practiced medicine for 31 years, but even so I learned and was touched, and, surprisingly, found great comfort in the way it helped me revisit, and reassess, the painful death of a close friend over a decade ago.'; - Thomas A. Tesoriero, MD, Retired Internist, Kaiser Permanente