WHAT IS THE BOOK ABOUT?
The book is in two parts. The first part is an introduction to the topics of death and dying, and how they are treated in various cultures – this part of the book is intended to gently introduce the reader to the issues in a non-confrontational way. The second part of the book, as the name suggests, is a practical guide for end-of-life planning. It is aimed at anyone who wants to plan, whether they have a life-limiting illness, are supporting someone who does or they are just really organised and want to do things well in advance so their family knows their wishes, a bit like writing a will. Overall, the aim of the book is to normalise death and dying and to make them a normal part of life that people feel comfortable discussing.
WHAT MOTIVATED FERNLEA TO PRODUCE THIS BOOK?
While providing services to support people who have a life-limiting illness is our focus, we believe part of our remit is also to open up the public conversation about death and dying. As it says in the foreword, through our work ‘we see first-hand every day how the people we care for deal with their own mortality, and the positive impact that normalising the dying process can have on someone’s end-of-life experience’.
WHO WILL FIND THIS BOOK USEFUL?
We see the book as being used by a whole range of people: people who have a palliative illness, and those who care for them; health professionals and counsellors; and for people who just want to be well-prepared and are making end-of life plans including writing a will or power of attorney, doing advanced care directives or pre-planning their funeral.
DO YOU FEEL THAT THERE IS A NEED OUT THERE IN THE COMMUNITY FOR A BOOK LIKE THIS?
Talking about death and dying is still very much a taboo subject that a lot of people feel uncomfortable discussing. Changing people’s perspective on that wont happen quickly but we feel that a book like this can help normalise the discussion and make it less confronting.
WERE FERNLEA EXPERIENCES AND STORIES INCLUDED?
Fernlea people were involved throughout the development of the book. Fernlea staff managed the project and the author interviewed the carers of some of our day respite guests to hear their stories and experiences. The author also interviewed Fernlea’s Founder to understand what her impetus had been for starting Fernlea. Because we wanted the book to be broader than just Fernlea and to capture a range of different perspectives, the author also spoke to a range of other people who have experienced dealing with the diagnosis of a palliative illness and the process of dying. All of these personal stories are featured throughout the book and bring a human perspective to it.
WHAT WAS THE PROCESS FOR WRITING THE BOOK?
To ensure a professional result, Fernlea engaged the services of a professional author. Rather than just commission someone, we put the project out to a competitive tender process. This process took a long time, but we felt it was necessary to… a quality final product.
