The Journey Home A True Story about Life, Love, Hope, Illness, Passage and Healing

Is anyone ever prepared to deal with the diagnosis of a terminal illness? What do you do to prepare for the passing of someone you love? How do you help a loved one navigate through the maze of issues that surround dying? Can you actually help a person die with peace, comfort and dignity? Whether you are a patient, a caregiver, or a family member, the author has written this book with the hope that you will gain knowledge and strength from understanding how she, her family, and her mother made this journey together. The Journey Home is the true story of a woman who is full of life and in the prime of life and then suddenly and without warning is diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer. The narrative unfolds as she makes the difficult transition from vibrant life to end-of-life. This story is about walking alongside someone you love and providing the support and care they need to find peace and comfort with life before death and with death itself. With no real hope given at diagnosis, the book shows the reader through the eyes of a patient how it feels to get a terminal diagnosis. How do you deal with the diagnosis? What do you do when you find out you have a disease that is going to kill you quickly but you don't know exactly when or how? Would you travel to far away places, spend all your money, or would you stay at home with your family and friends and enjoy each moment together? As someone you love begins their end-of-life journey, there are many issues to deal with: the shock of the diagnosis; the disease and its complications; their needs and fears. There are also many questions you need to consider for yourself: How do you prepare yourself to lose your mother, father, or other loved one? How do you deal with the pressure of supporting the patient while maintaining your own life? How do you deal with your loved one's fear of death and your own fear of death? How do you prepare for their death? How do you recognize when death is near? How do you and your family members handle the grief that comes with death? This story covers all these topics and more. The author prays that you find her book helpful, even if you take away only one idea. She hopes that this book touches your soul as it touched hers to share it with you. Please note: A majority of the proceeds of this book will be donated in the name of The Charlene Von Hoffman Cancer Foundation which directly endows cancer research and cancer patients in need.