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RESOURCES

Well Beyond offers gentle guidance and meaningful support through one of life’s most profound transitions. This space is dedicated to sharing trusted resources and practical tools to help individuals and families plan, reflect, and find peace. Whether you're seeking information, comfort, or connection, you are not alone.

 

Below you will find conversation starters, planning tools, medical and legal resources, and recommended books. ​The following are a few tips for using these resources:

  • Start early to begin the conversation.

  • Normalize the topic. It's an important part of responsible planning, such as writing a will or researching insurance.

  • Use stories or questions such as, “What would you want if you couldn’t speak for yourself?”

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Conversation Starters

The Conversation Project​​

  • Offers free, downloadable guides like the Conversation Starter Kit, What Matters to Me Workbook, and more.

  • Tailored versions for people with Alzheimer’s/dementia and for specific cultural/religious groups.

 

Death Over Dinner​

  • Interactive website that helps you plan a dinner conversation about end-of-life wishes.

  • Thought-provoking and designed to make difficult talks more comfortable.​

 

GoWish Cards

  • ​Coda Alliance offers a GoWish card game to help prioritize end-of-life preferences in a non-threatening, conversational format.

Planning Tools

PREPARE for Your Care​

  • Offers step-by-step videos and printable tools for thinking about and communicating care wishes.

  • Available in multiple languages and very user-friendly.

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Hospice Foundation of America (HFA)

  • HFA supports individuals and families facing life-limiting illness, educates hospice and grief professionals, and conducts programs and research to improve care and empower informed medical decision making. We can help you understand when and how hospice can help.

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Medical & Legal Resources

National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO)

  • ​Includes information about hospice, palliative care, and how to plan for serious illness.

 

CaringInfo​​

  • Free advance directives for each U.S. state, plus guides on care planning and grief.

 

Five Wishes​

  • Legally recognized advance directive in many U.S. states.

  • Addresses medical, personal, emotional, and spiritual needs.

 

Aging with Dignity

  • Offers legal tools and personal reflection materials similar to Five Wishes.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS

Books about death and dying can be deeply moving, philosophical, practical, or spiritual. The following are some of the most highly regarded and widely recommended books on the topic, spanning memoirs, guides, philosophical reflections, and psychological perspectives.

 

Memoir & Personal Accounts

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"When Breath Becomes Air" by Paul Kalanithi

  • A neurosurgeon diagnosed with terminal cancer reflects on life, death, and meaning in this powerful memoir.

 

"Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End" by Atul Gawande

  • A surgeon examines how modern medicine handles death and aging, urging a focus on quality of life rather than mere survival.

 

"The Year of Magical Thinking" by Joan Didion

  • A raw, literary account of grief and loss after the sudden death of the author’s husband.

 

"Mortality" by Christopher Hitchens

  • A collection of essays written as Hitchens faced terminal cancer, grappling with death from a secular, intellectual perspective.

 

Spiritual & Philosophical Perspectives

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"The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying" by Sogyal Rinpoche

  • A modern spiritual classic offering Buddhist teachings on life, death, and the afterlife.

 

"Staring at the Sun: Overcoming the Terror of Death" by Irvin D. Yalom

  • A psychiatrist explores how fear of death shapes our lives and how confronting it can lead to greater fulfillment.

 

Grief & Bereavement

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"On Grief and Grieving" by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross & David Kessler

  • From the psychiatrist who introduced the five stages of grief, this book applies those stages to personal loss and healing.

 

"It's OK That You're Not OK" by Megan Devine

  • A compassionate guide to grief that challenges the culture of toxic positivity around loss.

 

Practical & Ethical Approaches

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"Being with Dying" by Joan Halifax

  • A Zen teacher and hospice caregiver offers practical and spiritual guidance for those dying and those caring for them.

 

"How We Die: Reflections on Life’s Final Chapter" by Sherwin B. Nuland

  • A doctor explores the biological processes of death with humanity and candor, helping demystify what happens at the end of life.

 

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