Health

When we are thrust into the role of caregiver for a loved one who is in the process of dying, it's easy to get overwhelmed. Yet it's a situation millions of us face every year with virtually no sort of preparation or guidance. With Graceful Exit, Dr. Gustavo Ferrer offers an all-in-one resource for anyone tasked with managing the end-of-life care of a loved one.

Dr. Ferrer shares the essential steps we need to take in a way that can be tailored to our unique situation. Through checklists, plans, and step-by-step instructions reflecting his years of experience supporting patients and their families, Dr. Ferrer offers clear and compassionate guidance for the most difficult issues, including:

What are your rights under Medicare and health insurance?
- When should you bring your family together?
- How can you be a caregiver without burning yourself out?
- What are the pros and cons of advanced medical treatment versus hospice at each end-of-life stage?
- Most importantly, how do we say goodbye in a way that brings healing, closure, and peace?

It's the last news we want to hear--that someone we love is dying. Yet it's an inevitable part of life. With Graceful Exit, Dr. Ferrer offers this much-needed guide through the medical, legal, financial, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of dying and death.

From a renowned Johns Hopkins- and Stanford-educated cardiologist at Intermountain Medical Center--a hospital system that President Obama has praised as an island of excellence--comes the story of his time living in Longevity Village in China, and the seven lessons he learned there that lead to a happy, healthy, long life

At forty-four, acclaimed cardiologist John Day was overweight and suffered from insomnia, degenerative joint disease, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. On six medications and suffering constant aches, he needed to make a change. While lecturing in China, he'd heard about a remote mountainous region known as Longevity Village, a wellness Shangri-La free of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, dementia, depression, and insomnia, and where living past one hundred--in good health--is not uncommon.

In the hope of understanding this incredible phenomenon, Day, a Mandarin speaker, decided to spend some time living in Longevity Village. He learned everything he could about this place and its people, and met its centenarians. His research revealed seven principles that work in tandem to create health, happiness, and longevity--rules he applied to his own life. Six months later, he'd lost thirty pounds, dropped one hundred points off his cholesterol and twenty-five points off his blood pressure, and was even cured of his acid reflux and insomnia. In 2014 he began a series of four-month support groups comprised of patients who worked together to apply the lessons of Longevity Village to their lives. Ninety-two percent of the participants were able to adhere to their plans and stay on pace to reach their health goals.

Now Dr. Day shares his story and proven program to help you feel sharper, more motivated, productive, and pain-free. The Longevity Plan is not only a fascinating travelogue but also a practical, accessible, and groundbreaking guide to a better life.

An "angrily illuminating" (The New York Times) exposé of Big Pharma's corrupting influence in America today

In the last thirty years, pharmaceutical companies have seized control of American medicine by putting their marketers in charge. They invent diseases in order to sell the pills that "cure" them. They sway doctors by giving them resort vacatopms, gourmet meals, and fistfuls of cash. They advertise prescription drugs at NASCAR races, on subways, and even in churches. Medicines can save lives, but the relentless promotion of these products has come at tremendous cost. Prescription pills taken as directed are estimated to kill one American every five minutes. More Americans are addicted to medications than cocaine. And roads have become less safe as the over-medicated take to the wheel. In Our Daily Meds, journalist Melody Petersen connects the dots to show how subtle, far-reaching, and dangerous Big Pharma's powers have become.