"For those doing research on death and dying, this book is a must read; it provides a quick and easy-to-understand testimony from people experiencing hospice. Readers may gain inspiration on how to make death a more comfortable process for their patients, their families, or themselves."
Choice
"Emily Abel is a distinguished scholar of medicine, nursing, and caregiving. Her latest book, Prelude to Hospice, offers powerful testimony from patients at the moment when many realized that medical progress had limits, and that technology sometimes needs to give way to care. Her portrayal of Florence Wald shows her deep understanding of the changing role of nurses in the second half of the twentieth century. Anyone who wants to understand the origins of hospice in the United States, the challenges of caregiving, and the ways that today's dilemmas at the end of life were present at the origins of the palliative care movement should read her compelling new book."
Carla C. Keirns, MD, PhD, historian and palliative care physician
"Emily Abel is one of the most respected, influential historians working on family care giving and now, more recently, death and dying."
Patricia D'Antonio, director, Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing
"If you're looking for a case study on a dysfunctional research and clinical team, hamstrung by hierarchy and hobbled by boundary violations, this book will leave your mouth ajar."
The Gerontologist
"Partly inspired by Cicely Saunders, [Florence Wald] knew there was a better way to care for the terminally ill and their families. But it was anything but an easy road. This book describes the personal, professional, institutional and societal hurdles she came up against."
IAHPC Newsletter/HospiceCare.com
Chronicle of Higher Education
"Abel's book is a timely portrayal of one of the founders of the modern hospice movement. In learning about Ms. Wald, it is our responsibility as the reader to take the good, learn from the bad, and continue to build upon and evolve Ms. Wald's legacy to embrace suffering, loss, and hurt with compassion and empathy."
