Seven Days of Hospice

"From the first page I could not put it down . The book is beautiful. It is simple, real, heartfelt . You have shown others a way to navigate the road all of us will travel."-Barbara Karnes RN, Author of Gone From My Sight, My Friend I Care, A Time To Live, and The Final Act of Living

Blessed with a loving marriage and six children, Elaine Wilmes was about to enter the autumn of her life-then she was diagnosed with breast cancer. After a year of chemotherapy and Herceptin treatments, the doctors pronounced her cancer-free. But her cancer reappeared with a vengeance, first with the development of bone cancer, and then brain cancer.

When all treatment options had been exhausted, the family called hospice, whose mission is to support terminally ill patients and their families. Through hospice care, the family was able to release Elaine to the great beyond as quietly, painlessly, and lovingly as possible and witness her passing with renewed hope and in a profound and life-changing way.

This heart-rending memoir gives powerfully candid, moment-to-moment descriptions of the end-of-life experience. Narrated by one of Elaine's sons, D. M. Wilmes, this uplifting story will help other families come to terms with the roller coaster of emotions felt during a loved one's final days.