Lasting Words: A Guide to Finding Meaning Toward the Close of Life

Doctors of the USA welcomes Claire Willis, LICSW, author of the book “Lasting Words: A Guide to Finding Meaning Toward the Close of Life” and co-founder of Facing Cancer Together in Newton, MA, a non-profit community that provides support, wellness and educational services to all people affected by cancer, regardless of their capacity to pay, to talk about end of life issues and concerns which she discussed lengthily in her book. Listen in as she guides the listeners through their personal journeys to gratitude, hope, forgiveness, wisdom, prayer and ultimately, saying good-bye.

For over 20 years, Claire Willis has led groups for people living with life threatening illnesses. In therapeutic writing and other support groups, members seemed to gravitate towards a few essential themes as they sought to gracefully close out their lives. Almost universally, group members expressed the need and desire to feel known by family members and loved ones. They wanted to be remembered, to feel that their lives had made a difference. They wanted to pass on important life lessons to the people they cared most about.

Claire began her professional life as a clinical social worker. For years, she worked with people with cancer at the Wellness Community in Newton and later co-founded another non-profit, Facing Cancer Together in Newtonville, MA, where she continues to run support and educational programs. In addition to her group work, she teaches yoga, is an ordained lay Buddhist chaplain, and an adjunct faculty member at Andover Newton Theological School. She holds an MA from the Episcopal Divinity School and an MSW and M. Ed from Boston University. She maintains a small private practice in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Check out the Lasting Words website.