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Finding Frances
Is there such a thing as a good death? Frances Baldwin is dying and instead of fearing the end, she welcomes death as a consequence of her terminal condition. Frances regards any marginally effective medical intervention as interfering with life s natural process. This quality of life discussion is at the heart of author Janice Van Dyck's family drama, Finding Frances. The novel examines the moral and ethical constraints imposed by modern medicine as a family faces end-of-life decisions. Frances asks her son, William, a medical school drop-out, to help her deal with his own lawyer brother Randy, his divorced sister Sugar, and father-in-denial Bill. William is faced with the demanding and complex task of mediating the divergent opinions of each family member and the medical establishment in an attempt to honor his mother s desire to have a peaceful death. Finding Frances brings into focus the larger cultural, ethical, and legal issues confronting everyone today in this age of patients rights versus institutionalized healthcare. Janice Van Dyck confronts these difficult issues with a deft hand in bringing out the subtleties of all of the characters points of view. The story is a tribute to human dignity exemplified by an exceptional and inspirational woman, who in the author s words, "...died as she lived with dignity and occasional flashes of brilliance and hilarity." Finding Frances is a novel based on actual events.
- GenresFiction
296 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2010
About the author
Janice M. Van Dyck
5 books2 followersJanice M. Van Dyck is an award-winning novelist and freelance writer. Her published articles take on issues of change and transition. Her fiction provides insight into families, relationships and the conflict of being human.
Van Dyck's first career was as a corporate executive specializing in corporate communications, strategic planning and organizational development. These skills were especially useful when writing novels. She tells stories that catch your attention, give a new perspective, and motivate you to keep thinking about the topic long after the story is over.
She lives on the west coast of Florida with her family.
Van Dyck's first career was as a corporate executive specializing in corporate communications, strategic planning and organizational development. These skills were especially useful when writing novels. She tells stories that catch your attention, give a new perspective, and motivate you to keep thinking about the topic long after the story is over.
She lives on the west coast of Florida with her family.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 18, 2016
This is the best fiction account I've ever read of family dynamics during death. I cannot recommend it highly enough. The reluctance of our society to acknowledge death, the fear and avoidance, is all brought out in the interplay of the adult siblings, as well as their father.
August 29, 2010
The Spectrum of Living
Janice Van Dyck, the author of FINDING FRANCES, approaches this task of dealing with a family's struggle with the issue of conflicting decisions about death and dying with a strong background of gifts: she is an executive coach and communications specialist, has a fine first novel ('The O'Malley Trilogy') under her belt, and most important, she is writing from her own experience with the topic at hand. This novel is a biographical examination of how the author's family coped with the issues of a dying parent. It is a well-written, balanced discussion from all aspects about choices made about the time of death, fast paced novel that carries a mighty wallop - an introduction for all of us to meditate on the aspects the novel explores about an individual's participation in that 'final event'.
Frances is in her mid-seventies, has been a life long smoker, and now faces the diagnosis of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease - or emphysema - and the strains that disease places on all organ systems of the body. She is married to an emotionally ill-equipped Bill, and is mother to William, a medical school dropout married to a dermatologist, to Randy who left home after high school unable to cope with the lack of love for his parents and became a lawyer, and to Cynthia ('Sugar') who is divorced and somewhat rigid in her approach to change. Frances develops complications form her disease, decides she is unwilling to live a life supported by machines, and has elected to dimply die: she is ready mentally and spiritually. An acute problem results in a hospitalization with concomitant surgeries and defibrillation episodes and her family gathers round: old animosities and gaps in communication surface and there is considerable discussion about Frances' decision to discontinue living. Terms such as assisted suicide, hospice care, hardened medical advice, insurance inadequacies in understanding the life cycle all arise an it falls to William, the one who never wanted to become involved in life and death situations or the agonies of being a doctor, is the chosen one to support Frances' wishes. Each of the family members as well as each of the hospital personnel represent the multiple facets of coming to intelligent decisions about the right to die and the right to human dignity. With seamless empathy Van Dyck encourages the reader to hear all aspects of the sticky topic and finds a way to have the story end on a positive note.
Many books about the end of life have been written -both inspiring and boring - and Janice Van Dyck has made the wise decision to write a novel based on fact that is immensely readable and warmly understanding.
Grady Harp
Janice Van Dyck, the author of FINDING FRANCES, approaches this task of dealing with a family's struggle with the issue of conflicting decisions about death and dying with a strong background of gifts: she is an executive coach and communications specialist, has a fine first novel ('The O'Malley Trilogy') under her belt, and most important, she is writing from her own experience with the topic at hand. This novel is a biographical examination of how the author's family coped with the issues of a dying parent. It is a well-written, balanced discussion from all aspects about choices made about the time of death, fast paced novel that carries a mighty wallop - an introduction for all of us to meditate on the aspects the novel explores about an individual's participation in that 'final event'.
Frances is in her mid-seventies, has been a life long smoker, and now faces the diagnosis of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease - or emphysema - and the strains that disease places on all organ systems of the body. She is married to an emotionally ill-equipped Bill, and is mother to William, a medical school dropout married to a dermatologist, to Randy who left home after high school unable to cope with the lack of love for his parents and became a lawyer, and to Cynthia ('Sugar') who is divorced and somewhat rigid in her approach to change. Frances develops complications form her disease, decides she is unwilling to live a life supported by machines, and has elected to dimply die: she is ready mentally and spiritually. An acute problem results in a hospitalization with concomitant surgeries and defibrillation episodes and her family gathers round: old animosities and gaps in communication surface and there is considerable discussion about Frances' decision to discontinue living. Terms such as assisted suicide, hospice care, hardened medical advice, insurance inadequacies in understanding the life cycle all arise an it falls to William, the one who never wanted to become involved in life and death situations or the agonies of being a doctor, is the chosen one to support Frances' wishes. Each of the family members as well as each of the hospital personnel represent the multiple facets of coming to intelligent decisions about the right to die and the right to human dignity. With seamless empathy Van Dyck encourages the reader to hear all aspects of the sticky topic and finds a way to have the story end on a positive note.
Many books about the end of life have been written -both inspiring and boring - and Janice Van Dyck has made the wise decision to write a novel based on fact that is immensely readable and warmly understanding.
Grady Harp
October 20, 2011
Frances Baldwin is resigned to die. She has been diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and congestive heart failure and her quality of life is diminishing, but convincing her family to let her go is an uphill battle. Her husband Bill is angry and in denial, her youngest son Randy doesn’t want any part of it, her daughter Sugar is confused at her mother’s decision and her eldest son, William, is supposed to be her ally in convincing everyone to let her die including her doctor. There are bits of humor in the book and there is a lot about the ups and downs of family relationships and the tough decisions that had to be made.
Frances is a respected, very candid and stubborn matriarch of the Baldwin family and she gives insight on how it feels to be ready to die. A very real look at a person’s right to choose.
This book is based on the author's true events and shows how love of family brings everyone together at a crucial moment. I could relate to this story by my own experience in losing my father. He was stubborn and wanted to go and no amount of pleading from his family would change his mind. Blessedly, he went in his sleep.
Frances’ son, William, said it eloquently, “Love brings peace to the living and the dying; it tears down the walls of status and position, it transcends roles and past transgressions.”
Thank you to Ms. Van Dyck and PR by the Book for giving me the opportunity to review this book.
Frances is a respected, very candid and stubborn matriarch of the Baldwin family and she gives insight on how it feels to be ready to die. A very real look at a person’s right to choose.
This book is based on the author's true events and shows how love of family brings everyone together at a crucial moment. I could relate to this story by my own experience in losing my father. He was stubborn and wanted to go and no amount of pleading from his family would change his mind. Blessedly, he went in his sleep.
Frances’ son, William, said it eloquently, “Love brings peace to the living and the dying; it tears down the walls of status and position, it transcends roles and past transgressions.”
Thank you to Ms. Van Dyck and PR by the Book for giving me the opportunity to review this book.
July 20, 2010
Who should be making the medical decisions for someone suffering a chronic, debilitating illness? The philandering husband? The busy or absentee children who are dealing with their own problems? The well intentioned, hospital- based physicians who want to prolong a life that they have no connection with at all costs? In her novel, Finding Frances, Janice Van Dyck suggests that this decision is best made by Frances herself, the one who is experiencing the slow suffocation that is end stage COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.) This strong willed woman courageously accepts her fate and refuses treatments that will only prolong her increasingly miserable existence. Her understanding that the quality of life is more important than the quantity of life causes her reject the prospect of a future offering little more than progressive shortness of breath and disability. Van Dyck creates an empathetic protagonist who illustrates the important role of the patient in determining when to end the futile care that is often promoted by the medical establishment. As she works through the acceptance of her death and the farewells to her family it is hard not to admire and respect this woman who wants to take life and death on her own terms. Paul L. Phillips, M.D.
May 31, 2013
This is a good book for any chaplain, pastor, and human being to read. It gives you a unique picture into the lives of a family as the matriarch is dying with no varnish. You are confronted with the real challenges of death, dying, and grief that take place over the course of months and years from the unique perspective of each family member. No wonder the Association of Professional Chaplains gave it out with a conference registration last year.
June 3, 2016
Frances was my kind of woman. She looked death square in the eye and faced it on her own terms. She chose to die with dignity and grace, while teaching her family how to live more openly after she was gone. It was informative without being didactic and touching without being sappy. I could see my own family reacting this way to death. Thanks for such an enriching novel.
January 3, 2014
Too predictable and stock characters. Bailed after 50 pages- so many better ways to address the issue
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews