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A Critical Helping Hand for Caregivers
Why this book?
Simple yet powerful, URGENT WHISPERS: Care of the Dying by
Jerral Sapienza is an essential guide to getting focused in caregiving.
Designed for novice and experienced caregivers alike, it empowers
one to feel supported, informed and immediately useful in the process of helping
out at the end of life. Can be used as a personal guide and mentor, or in
group training settings to help inspire confidence and stimulate discussion
while opening to learn.
With index, exercises and reflections, a poetic,
prayerful, information-packed little guide: URGENT
WHISPERS is truly a "Map and Compass for the Soul."
The heart of the book is layed out as a two-page spread, the left side with
exercises, questions, list fill-ins and reflection opportunity by and for the
caregiver about the process. The right side of the page starts with a brief
and often incisive "whisper" at the top of the page, representing a quiet yet
important subtle message about the loved one's needs which the caregiver may or
may not have sensed in the course of the process, followed by a discussion of
how it may be most relevant to caregiver, loved one and the overall process.
For those apprehensive about the subject or fearful about getting involved,
URGENT WHISPERS delicately draws them in, offering
an excellent action guide to richer living. The chronological arrangement
of the "whispers" moves the reader gradually through a growth and
examination process, covering roles and attitudes towards usefulness, priorities,
love and family, friendship, spiritual values, accomplishments,
celebrations and a whole host of other topics, all while learning more about
Self and Others.
With exercises and index, it informs, inspires and documents a reader's
journey all along the
way.
Sapienza is a
fascinating blend of artist and keen social scientist who writes
from personal experience as long-time hospice volunteer and death
researcher. Rich and acessible, this jewel of a resource guide is
a caregiver's delight. Available as paperback or spiral
coil edition, there's a reason why URGENT WHISPERS is
popping up all across the country in book discussion groups, community
reading programs, church fellowships and other places which typically
have little to do with hospice or caregiving. This is a remarkable little
book.
Who is the Audience?
Caregivers: Friends and Family of a Loved One at the End of Life
Agency Volunteer and Paid Caregivers
First-Time and Experienced Caregivers alike
Churches and Spiritual Support Communities
High School and College Family Living / Lifespan Psychology courses
Hospice information resources and training programs
Corporate Employee Relations depts for Aging Parent / Family Caregiver support
Hospital Clergy and Pastoral Care staff
ICU and ER Medical and Nursing staff for training and patient resource
Libraries
Medical and Nursing Education Programs for End of Life Awareness
Oncology, Thanatology, & Gerontology patient referral materials
Palliative Care physicians, agencies and staff
Psychologist & Grief Counseling Office patient resources
University / Community Ed courses in Death Education, Gerontology, Conscious Dying
University Volunteer Programs, helping introduce
young people to Service Work
General Readership for Self-Help and personal growth awareness
Training Materials for
URGENT WHISPERS Courses
To assist Hospices, Schools, Libraries, Churches, Nursing Teams or other
agencies easily setup and conduct Caregiver Training and Discussion Groups using
the book, LLX Press provides Training Materials for free download.
Below are the Instructor and Student
20-page Guides as well as a very useful Course Evaluation Form for followup
(all in PDF format) for a 14-hour (2 hrs per week x 7
wks) Discussion Class / Training Course on materials presented in
URGENT WHISPERS.: (Other training materials are also
available, at http://WWW.LLX.COM/Train/.)
Facilitator's Guide:
http://WWW.LLX.COM/UW/Train/7WkClassGuide.pdf
Student's Guide:
http://WWW.LLX.COM/UW/Train/7WkStudentGuide.pdf
Course Eval Form:
http://WWW.LLX.COM/UW/Train/UWCoEval.pdf
About the Author
Jerral's earliest memories are as a toddler in and out of doctor offices and
hospitals for years due to childhood epilepsy, his life imbued with a sensitivity
for compassion and caregiving, knowing very well what it was to be taken care of.
Thankfully by his teen years, Jerral's neurological disorders remitted and his life
settled into a stable, if active one. Dubbed by his pediatrician a "Cadillac
engine in a Model T frame", he had an insatiable interest in all things around him,
propelling his inquisitive mind to his schoolwork, several inventions, a
fascination with forensics and handwriting analysis, a penchant for interpersonal
communication and a knack for foreign languages.
Jerral's University studies wove for nearly a decade in and out of many
different disciplines, including Engineering, Computers, Poetry & Writing,
Psychology, Counseling Business Law, several Foreign Languages and even Music
and Ballet before finally setting its career arc into mostly Teaching,
Engineering and Business.
Jerral's first encounter with caregiving was as a part of an elective research
project in a Counseling Psychology course at Oregon State University. Quite an
intense experience at the time, it didn't fit neatly into any of his Engineering or
Education career paths he could then discern, but inspired an interest in
caregiving and death and dying research for many years to come. When he graduated
with a Teaching Certificate he taught English, Writing, Drama, Computers and
Foreign Languages for a few years before starting a High Tech firm in 1987.
During the years of the AIDS crisis of the 1980's and 1990's, Jerral often
took the time to help out at the bedside of young people dying of AIDS and
several friends and family lost to cancer, ALS, Alzheimer's and other
degenerative diseases.
Certainly these times offered many opportunities to
Learn, Grow and Share in the understanding of what to do, what to say, how
to be at the bedside of someone who lay dying. It was the lessons and joys of
these times which formed the essence of URGENT WHISPERS: Care of the
Dying. His background in art, literature and prayer as well as
conscious dying and end-of-life care provide a foundation for a masterfully
inspiring and useful book of peace and support.
Colleagues working with Jerral over the years have been fascinated by his
passion in this work and the flow with peaceful joy and presence in the
moment as he participates in the vigil process of a dying friend or loved
one. Hospice Volunteers used to ask "Where did you learn these
things?" and "How did you know to do that?" and "How can I learn more
about all of this?" to which perhaps now the best answer is URGENT
WHISPERS: Care of the Dying, and its invitation to learning,
growing, sharing in the moment during those Teaching Times of Trauma. As
Sapienza says in the introduction to the book:
"I encourage you to look back in life and see what messages have come
to you in some of the 'Teacher Times' disguised as trauma. Exploring
this deep mine of rich resources available to us during our times of
yearning, we are often pleasantly surprised by gifts there if we remain
receptive."
In addition to his writing, Sapienza is also a Chaplain and active in
end-of-life education, support and advocacy. In his career and
professional history, he was a Business Consultant and IT Systems Engineer
for many years during which time he volunteered as a caregiver.
He developed a unique style of
Handwriting Analysis which he teaches and applies personally and
professionally. Upcoming books include a book on personal grief coping,
URGENT WHISPERS II: The Way Back, and an introduction to
handwriting analysis, Handwriting Analysis: JAQS Style, and
a collection of poetry.
# # #
Wholesale Distribution by DeVorss, Baker & Taylor, LLX Press and other outlets.
Various Retail, Church, Hospice and Library outlets across the US
[ Why this Book? ]
[ Audience ]
[ Author ]
[ Order ]
[ Training Resources ]
[ Reviews]
[ Find a Copy ]
[Buy at Amazon.com]
[ Contact ]
Recent Informational Mailing on URGENT WHISPERS
Recent Hospice Newsletter:
http://WWW.LLX.COM/UW/NewsLetterHospice.pdf
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