Final Chapters

The stories and poems in this collection were originally written for a competition run by the Dying Matters Coalition. The Dying Matters Coalition was set up by the National Council for Palliative Care (NCPC) in 2009 to help transform public attitudes towards dying, death and bereavement. Its 30,000 members include charities, care homes, hospices, hospitals, funeral directors, legal and financial organisations, doctors, nurses and other individuals. The Dying Matters website has a wide range of free resources to help people to talk more openly about dying, death, bereavement and their end of life wishes. The website can be found at www.dyingmatters.org. All royalties from Final Chapters will be paid to the National Council for Palliative Care (registered charity no. 1005671). Roger Kirkpatrick, social campaigner and publisher, has been enterprise manager at Shaw Trust, managing director of Berlitz Publishing and marketing director of Random House. He is currently an NCPC volunteer, and the Final Chapters project was his brainchild.

Foreword by Jonathan Dimbleby, Chair of Dimbleby Cancer Care. Introduction, Eve Richardson, Chief Executive, Dying Matters Coalition and the National Council for Palliative Care. Leave-taking, Helen Barnes. The Night Shift That Changed Me, Alexandra Obee. Swan, Brenda Read-Brown. Ava's Lovers, Claire Jones. The Milkman Cried, Josephine Howard. Journey's End, Sue Moorhouse. Hypocrisy, Sali Gray. An Ordinary Day, Kylie Joyce. Google Maps Saved My Life, Anneliese Mackintosh. Beneath The Bracken, Janette Ayachi. Coat Hanger, Adam Lound. Chubby Little Cheeks, Sarah Bakewell. Names Have Been Changed, Carole Mansur. Let Winter Come, Nick Jarvis. A Life Ascending, John Hunt. Polly Dolly, Maureen Gallagher. A Matter Of Compassion, Alva de Chiro. Enhancing Dementia Recipe, Janet Willoughby. The Patient That Changed Me, Faye Gishen. Regrets, Hope Uchio. A Dose Of Reality, Caroline Sposto. Closing Scenes, Gráinne Tobin. An Honourable Life, Christopher Owen. Of Glass, of Light, of Silver, Kit de Waal. The Mother Thief, Alison Wassell. The Grief Schism, David Mohan. Spoons, Pete Buckingham. The Waiting Room, Harriet Davies. Papier Maché Doll, Amanda Bowden. Baseball Cards, Leissa Shahrak. About the Authors.