Overview

What should medicine do when it can't save your life? The modern healthcare system has become proficient at staving off death with aggressive interventions. And yet, eventually everyone dies--and although most Americans say they would prefer to die peacefully at home, more than half of all deaths take place in hospitals or health care facilities. At the End of Life--the latest collaborative book project between the Creative Nonfiction Foundation and the Jewish Healthcare Foundation--tackles this conundrum head on. Featuring twenty-two compelling personal-medical narratives, the collection explores death, dying, and palliative care, and highlights current features, flaws, and advances in the healthcare system. Here, a poet and former hospice worker reflects on death's mysteries; a son wanders the halls of his mother's nursing home, lost in the small absurdities of the place; a grief counselor struggles with losing his own grandfather; a medical intern traces the origins and meaning of time; a mother anguishes over her decision to turn off her daughter's life support and allow her organs to be harvested; and a nurse remembers many of her former patients. These original, compelling personal narratives reveal the inner workings of hospitals, homes, and hospices where patients, their doctors and their loved ones all battle to hang on--and to let go.

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Francine Prose is the author of many bestselling books of fiction, including A Changed Man and Blue Angel, which was a finalist for the National Book Award, and the nonfiction New York Times bestseller Reading like a Writer. Her novel, Household Saints, was adapted for a movie by Nancy Savoca. Another novel, The Glorious Ones, has been adapted into a musical of the same name by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, which ran at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre at Lincoln Center in New York City in the Fall of 2007. She is the president of PEN American Center. Francine Prose is the author of many bestselling books of fiction, including A Changed Man and Blue Angel, which was a finalist for the National Book Award, and the nonfiction New York Times bestseller Reading like a Writer. Her novel, Household Saints, was adapted for a movie by Nancy Savoca. Another novel, The Glorious Ones, has been adapted into a musical of the same name by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, which ran at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre at Lincoln Center in New York City in the Fall of 2007. She is the president of PEN American Center. Al Kessel is a full-time narrator and voice actor currently living in Arizona, where he works from his professional home recording studio. For Al, performing is passion. Audiobook narration was the logical career choice for him since, for as long as he can remember, he's been a voracious reader, acting all the characters out in his head, and often entertaining his family with his dramatic reenactments of books, movies, and television. Al prides himself on the ability to bring any character to life with his voice, a voice often described as smooth as melted butter, or like an old friend you just love hearing tell you about their day. He has recorded numerous audiobooks from just about every genre. When not bringing stories to life, he loves hiking in the desert with his wife and puppy, visiting Disneyland and, when time permits, reenergizing on the beach. Lee Gutkind is the author and editor of more than twenty-five books and the founder of Creative Nonfiction, the first literary magazine to publish narrative nonfiction exclusively. Lee is Distinguished Writer-in-Residence in the Consortium for Science, Policy, and Outcomes at Arizona State University. Lee Gutkind is the author and editor of more than twenty-five books and the founder of Creative Nonfiction, the first literary magazine to publish narrative nonfiction exclusively. Lee is Distinguished Writer-in-Residence in the Consortium for Science, Policy, and Outcomes at Arizona State University. Lee Gutkind is the author and editor of more than twenty-five books and the founder of Creative Nonfiction, the first literary magazine to publish narrative nonfiction exclusively. Lee is Distinguished Writer-in-Residence in the Consortium for Science, Policy, and Outcomes at Arizona State University. Kitty Hendrix is from Carmel, California, and has been a professional actor/singer since childhood. She moved to New York City after college and found jobs singing in concert venues, cabarets, comedy clubs, and recording studios. She also acted in theater productions, originating more than twenty leading roles; appeared in film and television; and was a founding producer of Legacy Stage Ensemble, a theater company dedicated to the exploration of generational and social issues. Recording audiobooks since 2013 at her studio in NYC and working in nearly every genre, Kitty has consistently received excellent reviews for her work from AudioFile magazine and others. In 2018 Kitty was nominated as a finalist for an Audie Award for her narration of Daisy Miller by Henry James. Kitty now lives and records in the Catskill region of New York with her Shiba Inu, Reiki, and progressive activist/writer husband Alan Charney, where she also enjoys gardening, interior design, and organic cooking. She is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA and Actors' Equity.

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