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As Good as Goodbyes Get: A Window into Death and Dying
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 them ?home.? Sarah G. Schwartz , Music Cellist and Therapeutic Harpist in Medina, Ohio
168 pages, Paperback
Published February 22, 2017
About the author
Joy Nugent
11 books8 followersJoy Nugent is mother to four children and grandmother to twelve. She has spent a lifetime searching for answers to the big questions of life - who am I? why am I here? In her midlife she returned to nursing and established a private nurse practice offering home-based end of life care. To learn about death and dying Joy traveled widely and attending conferences in many parts of the globe. By offering a humble, non-judgmental loving approach Joy found that patients became teachers. These teachers included her own mother. Her book is simply about the power of stories to inform.
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January 23, 2026
As Good as Goodbyes Get: A Window into Death and Dying by Joy Nugent is a profound and deeply humane exploration of one of life’s most avoided yet inevitable passages.
Drawing from more than three decades at the bedside of the dying, Nugent offers readers an intimate look into what it truly means to accompany another human being through the final transition of physical life. Her work gently challenges society’s fear-based avoidance of death and instead invites openness, presence, and compassion.
What distinguishes this book is its ability to bridge clinical understanding with spiritual awareness. Rather than rejecting modern medicine, Nugent expands it, inviting caregivers, families, and patients to consider not only the body, but the eternal soul of the person who is dying.
Her writing is calm, reverent, and grounded in lived experience. Each story and insight reflects the wisdom gained from listening deeply to patients as they confront regret, forgiveness, love, fear, faith, and peace. The guidance offered is neither sentimental nor abstract; it is practical, accessible, and profoundly comforting.
The book provides valuable insight not only for those approaching death, but equally for those learning how to live. By normalizing conversations around dying, Nugent helps readers understand that awareness of mortality can deepen gratitude, authenticity, and meaning in everyday life.
Endorsements from spiritual leaders, medical professionals, and caregivers further affirm the book’s importance within hospice care, oncology, nursing, and pastoral support settings.
As Good as Goodbyes Get is a compassionate companion for patients, families, caregivers, and healthcare professionals seeking to approach death not with fear, but with dignity, faith, and love.
Drawing from more than three decades at the bedside of the dying, Nugent offers readers an intimate look into what it truly means to accompany another human being through the final transition of physical life. Her work gently challenges society’s fear-based avoidance of death and instead invites openness, presence, and compassion.
What distinguishes this book is its ability to bridge clinical understanding with spiritual awareness. Rather than rejecting modern medicine, Nugent expands it, inviting caregivers, families, and patients to consider not only the body, but the eternal soul of the person who is dying.
Her writing is calm, reverent, and grounded in lived experience. Each story and insight reflects the wisdom gained from listening deeply to patients as they confront regret, forgiveness, love, fear, faith, and peace. The guidance offered is neither sentimental nor abstract; it is practical, accessible, and profoundly comforting.
The book provides valuable insight not only for those approaching death, but equally for those learning how to live. By normalizing conversations around dying, Nugent helps readers understand that awareness of mortality can deepen gratitude, authenticity, and meaning in everyday life.
Endorsements from spiritual leaders, medical professionals, and caregivers further affirm the book’s importance within hospice care, oncology, nursing, and pastoral support settings.
As Good as Goodbyes Get is a compassionate companion for patients, families, caregivers, and healthcare professionals seeking to approach death not with fear, but with dignity, faith, and love.
Displaying 1 of 1 review