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"Finding Frances"

Daytime

Published: October 13, 2010

When a family member is dying, should we fight to keep them alive, or let nature take its course? What if that person asked you to pull the plug, and let them have a peaceful passage?

"Finding Frances" (April 2010, Winston-Higgins Press) by Janice Van Dyck, tells the story of a family grapplingwith this issue. A life-long smoker, Frances Baldwin has emphysema, heart failure, and a palpable desire to dieon her own terms. But her husband and three grown children – not to mention the medical industry – aren'tready to grant this simple wish so easily.

A must-read for caretakers, those with aging parents, or anyone who has ever asked themselves the samequestion Van Dyck did, Finding Frances will no doubt spark a dialogue about ethical choices when a familymember expresses a willingness to die.

Praise from Washington Times Book Review:
"How does each person want to live? How would they want to die? Death will happen to all of us without adoubt. Can we as individuals and as a community face our own mortality and incorporate options into ourhealth care? …Our current medical system is required to do whatever it can to prolong life. Is there a way forus to improve on that model?

Van Dyck brings these questions smoothly to the surface without ever pushing an agenda or setting up
arguments. She leaves the reader wishing death could be made easier and glad that the family and hospital finally helped Frances go." --Cecie O'Bryon England

JANICE VAN DYCK is a freelance writer and author of The O'Malley Trilogy. A Philadelphia native, she now lives in the Tampa Bay, Florida area. A 20-year business veteran, she has enjoyed a long career as a senior executive in a public company, as a corporate communications specialist, and as an organizational development consultant. She is currently involved with Project Grace (www.projectgrace.org), a non-profit devoted to advance care planning. For more information, please visit www.janicevandyck.com.

"Finding Frances is available at Amazon.com for purchase, and at Winston-Higgins Press for book club inquiries."

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