Reflections of a Loving Partner: Caregiving at the End of Life
NEWS FLASH: This unique hospice caregiving story by C. Andrew Martin has won the prestigious Benjamin Franklin Book Award in its genre category. Sponsored by the Independent Book Publishers Association, the Benjamin Franklin Book Awards competition honors books of exceptional merit, as judged by major newspaper and trade media reviewers, bookstore and library buyers and reviewers, and other leaders in the writing/publishing industry. Author Andrew and publisher Karla Wheeler accepted this coveted award at an awards banquet in New York City as a kick-off to Book Expo America. Congratulations, Andrew!
$14.95 • Paperback • 258 Pages • ISBN: 9780981621937
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Reflections of a Loving Partner: Caregiving at the End of Life is the intimate story of two devoted partners confronting the challenges of a terminal diagnosis. Author C. Andrew Martin’s world was shattered when his life partner, Gil, was diagnosed with AIDS. This eloquent memoir shares their love story, unveiling the burdens and the joys of the caregiving journey.
Unprepared for the role, but determined to support his ailing partner, Andrew chose to become Gil’s caregiver. To prepare for what lay ahead, Andrew enrolled in hospice volunteer training, learning lessons to guide him through the medical, emotional, spiritual, and legal hazards of caregiving. Despair turned to hope, allowing open, healthy discussions about death between the two men.
Now a registered nurse and leader in the field of hospice and palliative care, Andrew has turned his personal experience into his life’s work, sharing with others the valuable lessons he learned. He offers “End-of-Life Coaching” exercises at the end of the book to guide readers back to caregiving basics. Andrew shows us that when we are open to its possibilities, the loving and selfless act of being a caregiver for someone who is at the end of life can teach us just as much about living as about dying.
“Reflections of a Loving Partner is an honest, tender true story of love’s triumph over tragedy. It is a memoir that is at once historic and timeless. For anyone who has ever wrestled with the question of whether it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, Andrew Martin’s memoir shouts a resounding, Yes!” —Dr. Ira Byock, Author of Dying Well and The Four Things That Matter Most.
“Reflections of a Loving Partner… is both a personal story from a caregiver’s perspective and a collection of resources that may support those who find themselves in this challenging role. Everyone who is currently a caregiver, anticipates becoming a caregiver, or unexpectedly becomes a caregiver should own this book.” —J. Donald Schumacher, President and CEO, National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
“For [caregivers,] reading this book will give you solace in sharing this experience that is hard to describe, both in the burdens as well as the joys of serving another.” —Betty Ferrell, PhD, MA, FAAN, FPCN, End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) Principal Investigator
“This is a story of hope – taking an unplanned event and turning it into a life’s work of great meaning and promise.” — Pam Malloy, RN, MN, OCN, FPCN, ELNEC Project Director, American Association of Colleges of Nursing
“Andrew’s book is poignant, wise, and sweet, a wonderful memorial, allowing me passage through the looking-glass of my profession into unimagined intimacy with a caregiver and his well-loved patient. This book is among many other things a recipe for growth at the end of life.” —Dr. Patrick Clary, Author of Dying for Beginners
“In this intimate memoir, Andrew Martin beams a powerful light into the private worlds of AIDS, hospice training, caregiving, and bereavement. Not only is his story a testament to the transcendent potential of grief but also to the redemptive power of love.” —Ashley Davis Bush, LCSW, author of Transcending Loss
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
C. Andrew Martin has a passion for both hospice education and quality care. He began his hospice association in 1993 as a volunteer, and is now a Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse at Beacon Hospice, Inc., in Boston. Andrew has taught the Death & Dying and Palliative Practicum courses as Adjunct Faculty at the University of New Hampshire, Boston College, and Saint Joseph’s College of Maine.
Learn more by visiting Andrew’s website
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