When confronted with a serious illness it is difficult to know how to cope or prepare for what is to come. Reading books which describe others experiences, often through stories, can be a gentle way to learn.
These books have all been recommended by professionals who work in palliative care:
Practical guides to better endings
| With the End in Mind - Dr Kathryn Mannix | A palliative care doctor demystifies the dying process through compassionate, real-life stories from her own experience |
| Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End - Atul Gawande | A surgeon examines how medicine can better support quality of life and dignity at the end of life though braver conversations |
| Handbook for Mortals - Joanne Lynne and Joan Harrold | A practical guide to navigating end-of-life decisions with clarity, compassion, and planning |
| Do/Death - Amanda Blainey | A gentle, thoughtful call to live more fully by embracing death as a natural part of life |
| Free yourself from Death Anxiety: A CBT Self-Help Guide for a Fear of Death and Dying - Rachel Menzies and David Veale | A CBT-based self-help guide to reduce fear of death and dying and live more freely |
| Hope for the Best and Plan for the Rest. 7 Keys for Navigating a Life-Changing Diagnosis - Dr Sammy Winemaker and Dr Hsien Seow | Offers compassionate, practical guidance to help patients and families navigate serious illness with clarity and proactive decision-making |
Biographies and personal experience
| Dear Life - Dr Rachel Clarke | A palliative care doctor shares intimate stories of caring for hospice patients and her own father's death |
| The Language of Kindness: A Nurse's Story - Christie Watson | A nurse reflects on the power of compassion and humanity in life’s most vulnerable moments |
| Gratitude - Oliver Sacks | Final essays from a renowned neurologist offering reflections on his life, illness, and thankfulness |
| When Breath Becomes Air - Dr Paul Kalanithi | A brain surgeon facing terminal cancer reflects on meaning, mortality, and being both doctor and patient |
| Late Fragments - Kate Gross | A young mother chronicles her final years with honesty, wit, and insight after a terminal diagnosis |
| A Matter of Death and Life - Irvin & Marilyn Yalom | A therapist couple reflect on love, grief, and saying goodbye during Marilyn's final illness |
| Not that Kind of Love - Clare & Greg Wise | Siblings share a deeply moving and humorous account of Clare’s terminal cancer journey |