Dear Nobody by Mary Rose

Dear Nobody: The True Diary of Mary Rose, Mary Rose; edited by Gillian McCain and Legs McNeil. Naperville ILL.: Sourcebooks Fire, 2013.

     Mary Rose was a teen who had cystic fibrosis and died from complications. Dear Nobody is her diary. Unlike Go Ask Alice by Anonymous, Dear Nobody is a true diary with no particular premise [I found out after my teen years that Go Ask Alice was written partly with the idea that teens from divorced families are more likely to do drugs]. Mary Rose wrote about her experiences with partying and drug rehab, being terminally ill and knowing it, family relationships, boys, and friendship.

sapphoq reviews says: I found myself liking Mary Rose. Her drawings are quite good. Her writing is poignant. I am sorry she is gone. Her words still survive. 
     I found especially interesting her point of view as a teen in an adolescent program of a drug rehab. I worked in such a place for three miserable years of my life. [I prefer teens in groups of one]. I suspect that many people who work in the addictions field will sign and say, "Oh she was in denial." I think there was a bit more going on than denial. Sometimes what we refer to as denial is actually ambivalence. 
     I think we lost someone great when Mary Rose died. Highly recommended. [And probably okay for most teens to read].

Final Gifts by Maggie Callanan and Patricia Kelley

Final Gifts: Understanding the Special Awareness, Needs, and Communications of the Dying, Maggie Callanan and Patricia Kelley. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012. e-book, 188 pps.

     I know that at least some of the folks I knew when they were dying were aware that death was nearby. Final Gifts-- written by two hospice nurses-- addresses nearing death awareness [NDA], what a dying patient might need, and how the dying communicate with specific examples.

sapphoq reviews says: I highly recommend this book along with Maggie Callanan's earlier book Final Journeys to anyone who has a loved one who is dying.