Palliative
Care Publication of the Month
DVD: GRACEFUL PASSAGES – THE HOSPICE JOURNALS
Produced by Jon R. Hand, 2008
90 minutes
RRP $US9.95
Available at www.gracefulpassagesmovie.com
This is a collection of the journals or stories of 15 hospice
patients and their families filmed at Hospice Buffalo. They
include footage of the patients and their families, their
interactions with various health care professionals, and pieces
by various team members describing the essence of palliative
care. The film is skillfully made and edited and keeps moving
right along. The whole palliative care team is portrayed,
from the director down to the volunteers. The use of real
patients and the depiction of real problems make this film
a most useful training tool. Any health care professional
whether in training or those coming into palliative care would
benefit from watching and discussing this film.
The purchase price is said to include shipping and handling,
although it is not stated whether that applies to non-North
American addresses. The Journals are also available online,
although viewing requires high-speed internet connection.
Roger Woodruff
(July 2009)
Book Reviews
NARRATIVE
METHODS IN SUPPORTIVE AND PALLIATIVE CARE
An Annotated Bibliography
Liz Rolls, Sheila Payne and Janice Brown
Observatory Publications, International Observatory on End-of-Life
Care, 2009
130 pp
ISBN 978 0 9544192 4 0
RRP £5.00
Available at <www.observatory-publications.net/>
This book comes from the Cancer Experience Collaborative
(CECo), one of whose goals is to sponsor innovations in research
methodology, including narratives of cancer and other life-limiting
illnesses. The introductory section describes the use and
analysis of narrative texts and some details about how the
bibliography was constructed. Most of the book consists of
the bibliography itself and I have to admit that I enjoyed
dipping here and there. Whilst I am not an active researcher
in these fields, I felt that it was a worthwhile reminder
of how other people, be they health care professionals, patients
or families, think and feel. There are also a number of papers
about how to make sense of analysing these stories that I
think make this book a useful resource to those interested
in this field.
****
DVD: RECOLLECTIONS. Remembering
Through Sights and Sounds
Produced by Bev Foster, Room 217, 2009
61 minutes
$CAN29.99
Available at www.room217.ca
This new DVD from Bev Foster and Room 217 features the music
from the Classic Comfort CD combined with some stunning images
from twelve Canadian photographers. I found it soothing in
every way and think that it could definitely have a role in
relaxation therapy and sleep promotion in the palliative care
setting. It may also serve to prompt story telling or reminiscence
and life review.
***
CHOOSING DEATH
Should medicine’s last ‘last resort’ be legal?
The Hastings Center Report Volume 38, No. 5, September-October
2008
see http://www.thehastingscenter.org/Publications/HCR/
The September-October 2008 issue of The Hastings Center
Report has a collection of four essays exploring the
issues in the debate on physician-assisted death. Timothy
Quill and Margaret Battin give the appearance putting forward
balanced arguments, seen from both sides, but this is really
a veil and their stance is obvious. Timothy Quill admits physician-assisted
death is imperfect, whilst arguing strongly about its necessity.
Margaret Battin equates terminal sedation with ‘pulling the
sheet over our eyes’. I have not been convinced by their arguments
in the past and remain unswayed, but their essays are worth
reading for any student of this debate. Susan Wolf’s essay
is about her own father’s terminal illness and death and the
personal anguish she felt; but on later reflection is very
content that physician-assisted death was not employed. The
jewel in the collection is Daniel Callahan’s essay on advocacy
for physician-assisted suicide, which he describes as ‘organised
obfuscation’—an effort to render something unclear, evasive
or confusing. This is a pleasure to read, as he clearly and
concisely reduces the marketing of physician-assisted death
to just that—organised obfuscation. He concludes ‘…the way
single-minded advocates can foul the waters of public debate.
Stirring up some verbal muck can work wonders for a bad cause.’
***
Roger Woodruff
(July 2009)
View over 100+IAHPC hospice & palliative care book reviews
www.hospicecare.com/bookshop/hospice-palliative-care-book-reviews
Note for authors: If you wish to have your book reviewed, please send to:
Dr Roger Woodruff
IAHPC Bookshop Editor
210 Burgundy St, Suite 9
Heidelberg, Victoria 3084
AUSTRALIA
Note: Review copies become property of IAHPC and are not returned to the author. Only palliative care related books which are previously approved will be reviewed. Due to the large number of requests, we can't provide exact dates of when books will be reviewed.
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