Midwife for Souls: Spiritual Care for the Dying

I bought this book to help me with a family member who was at end of life. We learn to live but we’ve never been taught how to die. This books goes through the physical signs but also, and most important, the spiritual ones.I found it a tremendous help during a time of need. The prayers included were also comforting and helpful. While it’s written for other hospice nurses, I found all the examples, easy to understand and also applicable to those of us who are trying to help with the journey back home.

My mom died three days after my reading this book. If you don't have hospice with you at the end of life experience then you need this book with you as a guide. For instance, "the dying process."Read what you need. There may be some areas of the book that you don't need, (according to some comments) This gem of a book gave me comfort and strength. It should be available for hospitals, hospice workers and families. It gave me incredible strength and courage. Every page was written with love. I'm no longer afraid of death as a result of Kathy's book. Information is power.

Midwife for Souls touched my three brothers and I deeply during the final days of our father's life. We were introduced to this book by a Hospice Chaplain who gave us permission to ask any questions that we wanted to about what to expect in the days ahead from moving dad from hospital to hospice care. Her references to this book of what to expect were just what I needed to hear.Kathy's sensitivity, practical compassion and obvious calling to work with the dying was a source of deep strength and comfort to us all as we had not walked this way before. God used this book in helping us to address questions as a family that we do not normally talk about and to provide us with an environment of love and care to share our hearts.Her practical insights from more than 20 years of experience helped us move from the unknown to the known in how to prepare ourselves for the uncertain days ahead of us not only with Dad but four other deaths of parents within a period of two years.Midwife for Souls has been a constant resource for me as a Minister in walking with families who face the loss of a loved one both for those who profess faith and for those who do not. The sensitivity, prayer and comfort that Kathy offers in this book will help you and be a source of God's care to you. God promises to walk with us through every situation and challenge that we face and He will be with you as well.G. Stephen Goode

I loved this book and the loving, caring spirit it was written in. The author shares deep understanding and care for the dying and their loved ones. She is a religious person with strong faith. That faith does not seem to get in the way of her caring for a person, regardless of their religious beliefs. This holds true for most medical professionals. However, I found myself comforted by her expressions of deep faith throughout the book. In my opinion, her sense of faith only added to her ability to care for others. It’s a part of who she is and what she does. She shares her gifts with an open heart. She provides care to other humans. Thats her gift. She doesn’t force her faith on others, she shows respect for religious differences and does her work in a way that resonates with her soul. I would say many, many people have benefited from that.... and religion is the least of what she offers.

This is an amazing book. This really helped me in giving care to End-of-Life care-giving situations. I highly recommend for a Christian and spiritual perspective of what people go through when they die, from a hospice nurse's perspective. She is Catholic, but it doesn't take away from the book and it's mostly at the end, which can be skipped if you don't want to read that part.

Easy read and straightforward. I volunteer for hospice and do homecare- found this very useful and have offered the book to family members of loved ones who are receiving hospice services. Even though I am Catholic, I do think this book is a bit too over the top religious. The author is upfront saying she is catholic an unapologetic of her views and beliefs, I found it not to be inclusive of other beliefs or worldviews.

Absolute must in your library for anyone who deals with end of life care

I've got the audio book and it is really, really good. I love the voice of the person narrating it, to me, it sounds so, so fitting for the type of content in the book. If you have or know someone that may be dealing with someone nearing death, this book is phenomenal in helping to understand what exactly is going on with the loved one and the spirit realm. I highly recommend the book, even more so the audio book.

It gives very valuable real life experiences of dealing with people at the end of life and some of their needs in order to experience a peaceful death. Kathy shares her many years of valuable experience in loving service of the dying and what they have taught her. It includes insights of the spiritual needs of people.Bill

I ordered this book after watching an interview with the author on EWTN's The Abundant Life and was so inspired I had to buy the book.Reading Midwife for Souls has been a very moving experience. I have smiled, laughed and cried. It has given me hope and renewed faith and I hope to have the opportunities of putting the practical and prayerful guidance into practice in my work and personal life.This book is truly worth reading and recommending to others.

Zufrieden im allgemeinen, für meinen Geschmack zu viele religiöse Abschnitte und zu wenig Toleranz von Seiten der Autorin für Leute 'ohne' den katholischen Glauben,

Extremely useful, a very good read on many levels. A difficult topic handled with grace and dignity.

Amazing book! I loved the final chapter where Kathy shares her personal experiences.....she expresses how these moments are teachable moments, everyone is different and lessons are there to be learned from each one.