As Good as Goodbyes Get: A Window into Death and Dying - Tapa blanda

Joy Nugent left a comfortable life as the wife of a successful orthodontist to follow a calling and vocation. For more than three decades she was a student at the bedside of people who were dying. It is her belief that in order to live a fuller and more meaningful life we need to become more open in our conversations about death and dying. This belief has the potential to lead a person to die with confidence and faith in a cosmic purpose rather than fear of the unknown. As Good As Goodbyes Get is a bridge from a traditional medical approach to an approach that considers the eternal soul of the person.

—Andrew Harvey, editor of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche, internationally acclaimed author, and mystical scholar and teacher.

“And I benefitted from having your book, which is written in a very sensitive, sensible way and provided an easy read with very valuable advice. I hope you market it internationally to oncology nurses, oncologists, medical oncology departments, and nursing homes”

—Jorge F. Cassir, MD, An oncologist from New York 

There is no greater endorsement I can give of Joy Nugent’s work than to say when it’s time for me to make my transition she is someone I would choose to accompany me to the threshold. Joy is a person of deep wisdom, intuition, and grace. She knows how to listen and reflect to others their own truth.  The gems shared in As Good As Goodbyes Get help the reader learn what is healing and beneficial for those who are approaching the end of their physical lives. Hope, peace and love are the treasures that can be mined in a good death experience. With compassion and kindness Joy helps people find the path that will lead the “home.”

—Sarah G. Schwartz, Music Educator: Cellist and Therapeutic Harpist in Medina, Ohio

It was the spring of 1989 when my husband, David, was told by his surgeon to “go fishing.” Having been diagnosed with bowel cancer in 1986 and having spent three years with ongoing sur­gery and various treatments, we now had to prepare for the next phase of our time together.

We had a property in the mid-north of South Australia, where we cropped and ran sheep and cattle. Our daugh­ters, Sally, Mary-Jane, and Sarah, helped on the property during the holidays and exeats, or time off, from boarding school. David’s surgeon referred us to Joy Nugent, private palliative care services, to assist us in the best way to move forward with comfort and confidence. We were quite taken aback with Joy’s words, “Aren’t you lucky to have cancer?” As time elapsed, it became clear what she meant.

We had time to plan what we needed to do to prepare for the amount of precious time we had together as a family. It was not possible for David to receive the care he needed and tend to our beloved property. We leased a town house and Joy and her team arrived to assist us through this time. Recovery from cancer was not an option for David, but removing fear and fostering realistic hope were options. Throughout this time David organized the sale of our property and farm equipment.