Lessons For The Living

Shambhala (under the Trumpeter imprint) will be publishing my book Lessons for The Living: Stories of Forgiveness, Gratitude, and Facing Fear-From People in Hospice, in June or July of 2009. It will be distributed by Random House. It covers my six years as a hospice volunteer at the Zen Hospice’s Guest House, George Mark Children’s House, Coming Home Hospice, Hospice By The Bay, Gift of Love Hospice, and Maitri Hospice—and how these experiences helped me deal with prostate cancer. In the Fall I will be continuing my volunteer service with Pathways. I’ve recorded an excerpt of the book for Dublit.com. You can access it by going to http://dublit.com/stories/memories-0 If this doesn’t work you can go to dublit.com and search the stories for “memories.” If you have the time, I’d love to hear your comments, You can either put them directly on the dublit site or email them to me. For those of you who were at the Guest House when it closed, the scene I describe will be painfully familiar. The only discrepancy is that we had three residents, not two. I hope everything else is accurate.

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CAREGIVERS STORE

Recently Published!!
by Maryclaire Torinus

Surviving Hospice: A Chaplain's Journey into the Big Business of Dying Plus: How To Find a Trustworthy Hospice 

This narrative is an insider’s look into the hijacking of hospice by private equity and professional investors and the subsequent harm to patients, their families, and to the interdisciplinary clinical teams. It was released by a NYC publisher on October 31, 2023. For sale on Amazon.

The author, a hospice chaplain, tells end-of-life stories of her patients who were harmed by financially-motivated policies. This is a book for anyone who is embarking on making a choice about a hospice for their loved one, working chaplains, those in training, and those interested in what dying is like with a hospice who places patients as their primary stakeholders.

Maryclaire's experience working for an owner who sold to a private equity firm helped her to realize that the reputation and viability of hospice is in jeopardy. Her goal is to alert all who love hospice to rid it of professional investors.

— Stacy Juba, author, editor, and award-winning health journalist

"Powerful, beautifully written, and eye-opening, this book spotlights the inner workings of a multi-billion-dollar industry and the effect on patients, families, and hospice staff. The author shares poignant accounts of hospice at its best and worst and the hard-hitting truths she learned on her journey. A must-read for family members exploring hospice care."

— Laura Kukowski, CEO, editor, For-Profit Badger Hospice, LLC

"Maryclaire Torinus speaks with authority, providing this essential handbook for choosing a hospice care team and why that selection really matters."

Greg Schneider President, HVA, co-author of The Changing Face of Hospice Volunteering in Hospice and Palliative Care 

"When I first found out that Maryclaire Torinus was writing this book, I immediately contacted her because in my 25+ years supporting hospice volunteers, I have seen a gradual decline in the quality of care volunteers are permitted to provide the dying and their families. There are a variety of reasons for this that I describe in the Foreward of this book. Maryclaire provides invaluable insights that everyone should know, along with solutions to help others make the right choice in choosing a hospice."

Buy Now