A vital roadmap to planning your own end-of-life care.

While modern Americans strive to control nearly every aspect of their lives, many of us abandon control of life's final passage. But the realities of twenty-first-century medicine will allow most of us to have a say in how, when, and where we die, so we need to make decisions surrounding death, too. If not, those decisions will be made for us. Threading compelling real-life stories and practical guidance throughout, this book helps you navigate advance care planning for yourself and your loved ones.

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In this practical guidebook, Dr. Dan Morhaim and Shelley Morhaim offer readers hope, empowerment, and inspiration. What we choose for our end-of-life care depends on accurate information and on our personal values. We need these to both understand new medical advances and to appreciate the wisdom of humanity's past and present.

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Dr. Morhaim brings a unique background: Emergency Medicine physician, 24-year Maryland state legislator, faculty at George Washington University and Morgan State University, with service on numerous boards and commissions. He guides readers through the medical, legal, and financial maze of end-of-life care. He details the care choices available to you and explains why completing advance directives is a necessity for every adult American, young and old. Shelley Morhaim draws on her experience as a therapeutic music practitioner for hospital patients to offer compassion to those facing hard decisions.

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Timely topics include:

• How to make decisions when selecting the best care for yourself and others

• How to effectively manage pain at the end of life, including with medical cannabis and narcotics

• What doctors want for themselves in terms of end-of-life care

• How to deal with dementia

• What to expect from palliative and hospice care

• How organ donation and body disposition work

• How to communicate individual needs to the health care team and family members 

• How to obtain and use MOLST/POLST (medical orders for life-sustaining treatment) 

• How laws on assisted dying vary by state

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Organized as a roadmap that you can follow when doing advanced care planning, this book helps you keep decisions in your own hands and spare your family the uncertainty and trauma of guessing about end-of-life wishes. Breaking down the barriers to a difficult but essential topic, Preparing for A Better End helps readers open this often-avoided discussion with their loved ones in a calm and reassuring manner while providing the information and guidance needed to ensure that deeply held values are reflected and honored.