Achieving a Good Death: A Practical Guide to the End of Life
By Chris Palmer
Reviewed by Victoria Starr Marshall
Chris Palmer knows how to live. An author, speaker, wildlife filmmaker, conservationist, professor, and grandfather, he is very clear that his time on earth is limited and he’s not going to waste one precious minute of it.
“During his filmmaking career, he swam with dolphins and whales, came face-to-face with sharks and Kodiak bears, camped with wolfpacks and waded hip-deep through Everglade swamps,” states his book bio among a long list of accomplishments. Palmer now devotes his life to helping us prepare for what scares many of us even more—facing death and dying.
I first met Palmer in 2022 when he wrote an article for 3rd Act on the benefits of creating a personal mission statement and how to do it. His clarity and openness to sharing his own very personal mission statement and letters to his family were inspirational, helpful, motivating. Palmer has a passion for showing us how to live the waning years of our lives so we can “finish strong.”
Discussing his book prior to publication, Palmer told me, “Achieving a Good Death will help people because there is an art to dying well that can be taught and learned. While death is inevitable, dying badly is not. A good death is achievable and the book explains how. It will reduce the fear that often cloaks discussions about death and dying and give readers the knowledge and skills to achieve a peaceful, gentle, and dignified death.” Book now in hand, I can attest that Palmer has achieved this goal admirably.
Achieving a Good Death is comprehensive and organized in a highly readable format. Palmer helps us think about what a good death would be for ourselves and does not pull punches when explaining that most of us will not die fast or peacefully in our sleep. Even so, there is much we can do while alive to maintain agency through the dying process and reduce suffering—ours and our family’s.
In a step-by-step process Palmer takes us through decluttering, “death-cleaning,” and getting organized, creating advance directives, communicating with our agents and loved ones, creating legacy letters, caregiving, palliative care, and end-of-life options. He helps us contemplate what it’s like to die, what we want done with our bodies and remembrances, and grief. The appendix includes examples of letters describing end-of-life-wishes, an ethical will, and more. It’s a how-to book on how to prepare for death. By being prepared for death we can get on with the business of living—and not waste one precious minute of it.