This “comforting…thoughtful” (The Washington Post) guide to maintaining a high quality of life—from resilient old age to the first inklings of a serious illness to the final breath—by the New York Times bestselling author of Knocking on Heaven’s Door is a “roadmap to the end that combines medical, practical, and spiritual guidance” (The Boston Globe).

“A common sense path to define what a ‘good’ death looks like” (USA TODAY), The Art of Dying Well is about living as well as possible for as long as possible and adapting successfully to change. Packed with extraordinarily helpful insights and inspiring true stories, award-winning journalist Katy Butler shows how to thrive in later life (even when coping with a chronic medical condition), how to get the best from our health system, and how to make your own “good death” more likely. Butler explains how to successfully age in place, why to pick a younger doctor and how to have an honest conversation with them, when not to call 911, and how to make your death a sacred rite of passage rather than a medical event. This handbook of preparations—practical, communal, physical, and spiritual—will help you make the most of your remaining time, be it decades, years, or months.

Based on Butler’s experience caring for aging parents, and hundreds of interviews with people who have successfully navigated our fragmented health system and helped their loved ones have good deaths, The Art of Dying Well also draws on the expertise of national leaders in family medicine, palliative care, geriatrics, oncology, and hospice. This “empowering guide clearly outlines the steps necessary to prepare for a beautiful death without fear” (Shelf Awareness).

About Book Club for Mortals at the Estes Valley Library

This is a book club that focuses on end-of-life issues and our shared mortality. We read a different book each month, and titles range from the practical to the philosophical, and the serious to the lighthearted, both fiction and nonfiction. This is not a grief or bereavement group, but a space to have open, honest, thoughtful conversations about interesting books and ideas. Discussions are led by Mindy Rickard, advance care planning advisor and longtime Book Club for Mortals host. The book club meets on the second Thursday of each month, through December. Each meeting covers a different book.

More about this program

We will make five copies of the book available for participants to read and keep, on a first-come, first-served basis. If you would like a book, please indicate that when you register, and we'll follow up within 72 hours (likely sooner!). By registering and claiming a book, you are committing to attend the book discussion.

Update: All of our giveaway books are spoken for; see below for information on checking out a copy.

We will also make copies available for checkout at the first floor service desk, and you can search our collection for additional copies and formats (eBook, audiobook, large print, etc.).

Related programs/resources

• Advance directive resources