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Highly commended at the BMA Book Awards 2008 This book is about hospices seen through the eyes of the people who work in them. Their individual voices perspectives and stories invite readers into the day-to-day complexities of hospice life. There is growing public and professional attention to end of life care and the way dying patients and their families are treated. How can hospices make the process as peaceful and dignified as possible? What sort of people dedicate their careers to helping the dying? What difficulties are they up against in providing this care and what makes it all worthwhile? This inspirational book provides vivid real-life accounts of hospice life from managers doctors nurses carers and support staff. The thought-provoking narratives provide vital insights into the type of work undertaken in a hospice setting. They explore the challenges for - and personal motivations of - staff and the many ways hospices strive to meet the needs of patients and their families with sensitivity and respect. Life in a Hospice is enlightening reading for all healthcare professionals in palliative care including volunteer administrative and support staff. It is also highly recommended for nurses and others in caring roles considering a move into hospice work. Therapists counsellors and religious leaders will discover poignant and encouraging insights and people with a family member approaching the end of life will find the book reassuring and informative. 'I warmly recommend this book as a most helpful resource for preparing ministry teams in visiting the terminally ill in hospital hospice and at home. In the ministry teams which I have prepared there is always a concern for what to do & what to say. In reality the most important approach is one of listening giving space to the personal stories but also the silent spaces. The latter can be the hardest. Here then is an excellent book which will give insight into the richness and variety of peoples' thoughts feelings and experiences as they face death and dying. In training adults to be spiritual health care visitors the most important lesson to be learned is not what to say but how to be present in this way the spiritual health care visitor will enable the important voices to be heard and the personal experience of death and dying shared.' Reverand Anton Muller Vice President of The Association of Hospice and Palliative Care Chaplains and the Spiritual Care Co-ordinator at the Eden Valley Hospice Carlisle