For Immediate Release

Hospice Professional of 30 Years Publishes Powerful New Book on Supporting Loved Ones Through the Final Season of Life

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Alliance, Ohio — After three decades of dedicated service in hospice care, Rebecca Spencer McCurdy has released Gracious Living and Hospice 101, a deeply compassionate and practical guide for anyone seeking to support a loved one at the end of life. Drawing on her extensive experience recruiting, training, and supporting patient‑care volunteers for Ohio’s Hospice LifeCare (formerly Hospice of Wayne County), McCurdy offers readers both an intimate narrative and a practical roadmap for caregiving.

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The first portion of the book unfolds as a novel, inviting readers into the life of Kate, a vibrant woman in her forties facing terminal breast cancer. Determined to leave her family a legacy of memories, Kate partners with Fran, a hospice volunteer who helps her record her life stories when she no longer has the strength to write them herself. Their relationship becomes a tender exploration of joy, sorrow, and the profound transformation that occurs when one life touches another. Kate begins her story with the evocative line: “The first time Luke made love to me was in a strawberry field under the light of the midnight sun.”

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The second portion of the book shifts into a practical, accessible guide for caregivers. McCurdy offers clear, compassionate instruction on supporting individuals with limited life expectancy — including easing loneliness through attentive listening, offering emotional and spiritual support, companioning someone through physical decline, and navigating personal grief, family grief, and anticipatory grief.

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Gracious Living and Hospice 101 is available in softcover and digital formats through Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and BookBaby Bookshop. McCurdy is also available for workshops, training events, and retreats on “Supporting Those We Love in the Last Season of Life.”