Review of Dying Well
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ChloeFischer
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- Latest Review: Dying Well by Susan Ducharme Hoben
Review of Dying Well
[Following is a volunteer review of "Dying Well" by Susan Ducharme Hoben.]
Dying Well by Susan Ducharme Hoben is a non-fiction book that describes an incredible journey of a family and their friends during a time that is devastating to millions of people every year. This book follows a woman and her husband and how they navigated through an incredibly hard time. In the beginning, Susan talks about her struggles with breast cancer and how she beat it, but it also talks about the terrifying news of her heart condition and how she had to go through open heart surgery. Through her family and friends' support, she continued to live a very full life. Then her husband, Bruce, gets diagnosed with cancer and ultimately lives 9 months before his passing. This family has been through a lot, but they do know how to celebrate life and Susan has parties known as Celebration of Life parties that bring all of them together. Susan’s Celebration of Life parties are so important to her and her family and they are a great representation of the fact that there is always something to celebrate!
There truly are so many positive aspects about this book. It is relatable and almost comforting to read a family go through what so many people go through every year. This family specifically also shows that there is light in the dark. Through the whole book Susan and Bruce tried to stay strong for their family. They were constantly finding the good in the worst possible situation. Their families were all so supportive and everyone was there for each other. Susan was there for Bruce through everything. She even did her own research on stomach cancer, the type of cancer that Bruce was fighting, and asked everything she could think at doctor’s appointments. Bruce ultimately decided that he was not going to get chemotherapy and radiation because he did not want to get any sicker. He wanted to live life through quality rather than quantity. That alone is a scary decision for anyone to make. This family did it so gracefully and made every second of their remaining life together an adventure. Another thing I really liked about this book was that it showed the bad too. Susan talked about the relationship with her sister and how they fought and tried to overcome it. That is another thing that every family goes through and it is nice to see how different people deal with differences and how they try to fix it.
The family went to go on vacations that they got to spend with their family. They had parties and family get-togethers. Bruce even reconnected with some of the people from his past. By the end, he got to die how he wanted to die, at home surrounded by everyone that he loved the most and as comfortable as possible.
I would rate this book a 4 out of 4 stars. I did not find any spelling or grammatical issues with this book. There was not one time that I did not want to see what happened next. This family is truly inspiring in how they live for the good things. Even when all odds were against them they found what was good and they focused on that.
I would recommend this book for an adult that wants a page turner and a real life story. The love that Bruce and Susan had for each other and their family is something that everyone should experience and it is so amazing to read this family’s story. Although this book is sad in a sense of death and cancer in general, it could help so many people find light in their dark places and it could make people realize that there is always something to be grateful for.
******
Dying Well
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Dying Well by Susan Ducharme Hoben is a non-fiction book that describes an incredible journey of a family and their friends during a time that is devastating to millions of people every year. This book follows a woman and her husband and how they navigated through an incredibly hard time. In the beginning, Susan talks about her struggles with breast cancer and how she beat it, but it also talks about the terrifying news of her heart condition and how she had to go through open heart surgery. Through her family and friends' support, she continued to live a very full life. Then her husband, Bruce, gets diagnosed with cancer and ultimately lives 9 months before his passing. This family has been through a lot, but they do know how to celebrate life and Susan has parties known as Celebration of Life parties that bring all of them together. Susan’s Celebration of Life parties are so important to her and her family and they are a great representation of the fact that there is always something to celebrate!
There truly are so many positive aspects about this book. It is relatable and almost comforting to read a family go through what so many people go through every year. This family specifically also shows that there is light in the dark. Through the whole book Susan and Bruce tried to stay strong for their family. They were constantly finding the good in the worst possible situation. Their families were all so supportive and everyone was there for each other. Susan was there for Bruce through everything. She even did her own research on stomach cancer, the type of cancer that Bruce was fighting, and asked everything she could think at doctor’s appointments. Bruce ultimately decided that he was not going to get chemotherapy and radiation because he did not want to get any sicker. He wanted to live life through quality rather than quantity. That alone is a scary decision for anyone to make. This family did it so gracefully and made every second of their remaining life together an adventure. Another thing I really liked about this book was that it showed the bad too. Susan talked about the relationship with her sister and how they fought and tried to overcome it. That is another thing that every family goes through and it is nice to see how different people deal with differences and how they try to fix it.
The family went to go on vacations that they got to spend with their family. They had parties and family get-togethers. Bruce even reconnected with some of the people from his past. By the end, he got to die how he wanted to die, at home surrounded by everyone that he loved the most and as comfortable as possible.
I would rate this book a 4 out of 4 stars. I did not find any spelling or grammatical issues with this book. There was not one time that I did not want to see what happened next. This family is truly inspiring in how they live for the good things. Even when all odds were against them they found what was good and they focused on that.
I would recommend this book for an adult that wants a page turner and a real life story. The love that Bruce and Susan had for each other and their family is something that everyone should experience and it is so amazing to read this family’s story. Although this book is sad in a sense of death and cancer in general, it could help so many people find light in their dark places and it could make people realize that there is always something to be grateful for.
******
Dying Well
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Latest Review: Dying Well by Susan Ducharme Hoben
