By accepting the inevitability of death--our own, or that of a loved one or patient--we take control of however many days or years remain, and we become empowered to fill this time with dignity and love. Medical Care of the Soul is for all of us who are facing death, or will someday die. We all will be there, but few of us admit it to ourselves. A doctor who constantly questions his own role in preserving life at any cost, Bruce Bartlow has written a pragmatic guide to making the full spectrum of end-of-life decisions. He stresses the importance of pre-determining the quality of life we wish to hold onto in our last days, and of committing those determinations to writing (and includes a wealth of forms to be used for that purpose). His instructions include practical steps we can take to arrange the end of life, and what roles each participant can play, including a full integration of healthcare providers, families and patients. All come to an individual's death seeking their own healing, and all have the ability to heal themselves and the others. In teaching us how to face death, Medical Care of the Soul is more a guidebook for living than for dying. By envisioning our own death from the soul's perspective, each of us can transform what remains of this life. We can choose to see the awareness of death not as a terrible loss, but as the last, loudest call to discover what we came here to do. The sooner we make this shift, the more time and clarity we will have to achieve our deepest goals and fill the last of life with loving resolution. Bruce Bartlow has devoted years to care of the poor and neglected, not just in this country but in others. He is as much a humanist as a scientist and part of what makes this book remarkable is his ability to make empathic connections with patients and colleagues. Medical Care of the Soul offers a structured approach to fulfilling the "soul" or deep essential healing needed at the end of life, bringing to our last days the opportunities for depth and sacredness.

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