KENNETH J. DOKA is a professor of gerontology at the Graduate School of the College of New Rochelle and a Lutheran minister. He is the former president of the Association of Death Education and Counseling and the author of Disenfranchised Grief and Death and Spirituality.

• Foreword by Charles A. Corr. Responses to Life-Threatening Illness. Understanding the Illness Experience. Understanding the Road Before. The Crisis of Diagnosis. Living with Disease. Coping with Recovery. Facing the Crisis of Death. Facing Illness as a Family. Coping with Loss. The Sensitive Caregiver. Conclusion. Appendix 1: Resources. Appendix 2: Examples of Health Care Proxies and Living Wills.

"Every page of this book reveals the author's keen awareness of the challenges faced by patients, families, and caregivers dealing with life-threatening illnesses. Practical and wise suggestions that are well grounded in personal experience." (Robert Kastenbaum, Ph.D., Editor, Omega--Journal of Death and Dying)