From inside a hospice: navigating an end-of-life journey

The Perks of Hospice traces tears and triumphs of a couple’s difficult journey…

Eventually, whether we want to or not, we’re all going to face the challenges, confusion and questions inherent in navigating an end-of-life journey. Linda Moran and her husband of nearly 45 years, Dean, found support and peace through hospice — people she calls “angels who walk among us.” In her candid, deeply personal book, The Perks of Hospice: Stories of Love, Life, and Loss, Linda shares the tears and triumphs before, during and after her husband’s time in hospice care, with valuable checklists to empower others with the wisdom she gained along the way.

When Linda Moran’s husband’s health began its serious decline after open heart surgery, she was prepared to support him through a challenging recovery that included a stroke and speech aphasia. But as Dean pinballed from one medical crisis to another, the couple encountered unexpected obstacles completely beyond their control, including a network of doctors that gave them contradictory care instructions and left them feeling woefully uninformed.

“You must learn to advocate for your loved one, for your family and for yourself,” Moran said. “Just because you have a doctor doesn’t mean he/she has your best interests at heart. Ask questions!”

After two years of navigating the chaos of the American healthcare system, Dean received a referral for hospice care — which meant he wasn’t expected to live for more than six months.

“Though the prognosis was devastating, hospice brought many surprising benefits: Help to navigate a broken system. Spiritual counseling. The freedom to be fully present in life. And an opportunity to make Dean’s coming time what he wanted it to be,” Moran said.

Her new book, The Perks of Hospice: Stories of Love, Life, and Loss, is filled with intimate personal stories as well as practical checklists for those facing similar journeys. So much more than a story of illness, hospice and death, theirs is a love story that offers hope and strategies for navigating the unwieldy reality of healthcare as well as suggestions for an end of life that allows peace for everyone involved.

“The Perks of Hospice shows us how the end of life can be so much more than an ending,” Moran added. “If you are reaching the end of life, check on hospice and palliative care services. They are amazing people and want whatever you need to live your remaining days as comfortably as possible. They are the angels who walk among us.”

Married for almost 45 years, Dean and Linda Moran did everything together, especially in their two decades as artists, experimenting with an ancient paper process on fabric. Their art provided a needed respite from medical reality and helped them create a lasting legacy at the end of their lives together.

For over two years, including through the pandemic, they were cared for by an amazing team of hospice workers. To carry out her husband’s love of helping others, Linda Moran decided to write about their experiences and provide checklists about end-of-life care. After 30-plus years as a public school teacher, from earth science to history to mathematics, she’s facing a different retirement than planned, with writing, quilting, reading and solo travel.

The Perks of Hospice: Stories of Love, Life, and Loss

Publisher: Wheatmark Publishing

ISBN-13: ‎979-8887470672

Paperback: ‎133 pages

Available from Amazon.com