A Senior's Guide for Living Well and Dying Well is an effort by an engaged group of seniors to address most questions of aging. Dr. Hanson has taken the content from years of expert group presentations and condensed them into into a readable, unique, and accessible guide for seniors and their families.
He starts with aging well and covers retirement issues, physical and mental well being, driving, sleeping, depression, and fraud. The section on health care addresses our aging bodies, the capacity and limitations of healthcare systems, palliative and hospice care, end-of-life planning, dementia, and grief. A final section encourages one to leave a legacy beyond just money and property. Choosing financial and healthcare representatives, writing legacy letters, making wills, estate planning, memorial and funeral plans, organizing records, and conversations with loved ones are all covered.
Yet, the book's greatest value may be in the real-life stories included in many chapters. Stories of advance directives that worked well and not so well. Stories of healthcare and financial agents lasting for decades. And stories of dying persons making decisions right up to the end. This book will be valuable to seniors and their families as a reminder to think ahead, plan, and cherish the opportunity to be intentional as we age.
Stuart Hanson grew up in Minneapolis, attended Washburn High School, Dartmouth College, and Dartmouth and the University of Minnesota Medical schools. He served in the U.S. Navy in Vietnam and Japan and practiced pulmonary and critical care medicine at Park Nicollet Health Services in the Twin Cities for forty-one years. During his medical practice years he has had over 4,000 conversations with patients and their families about end-of-life issues. He uses those experiences in writing this guide book for seniors and their families.
Dr. Hanson has held many leadership positions at Park Nicollet including medical director and president of the Park Nicollet Institute for Research and Education. He has served as president and board chair of the Twin Cities Medical Society, president of the Minnesota Medical Association, and as a Minnesota delegate to the American Medical Association House of Delegates. He was the founding president of the Minnesota Smoke-Free Coalition, Vice President of the Minnesota Health Data Institute, and vice chair of the Minnesota Partnership for Action Agaist Tobacco (renamed Clearway Minnesota). He is the current president of Behavior at Work Collaborative, Inc. which is dedicated to improving workplace culture.
He has previously written Do No Harm: A Personal Memoir. He lives with his wife in Minneapolis. They have two adult children.
"A Seniors Guide for Living well and Dying Well is a must read for families of all ages. It is a valuable resource for those of us struggling with age-related issues and for our loved ones who are guiding us through these uncharted waters." - Janet Entzel, author of AKA McGuire and If You Reach for the Stars, You'll Catch a Few
"Finally, one authoritative source that gathers sound, positive, professional, and practical information about our fears and insecurities as we face life and eventually death. We are empowered to face our future and legacy with upbeat, clear information. His care and compassion for all our needs at this time in life shines through." - Lorraine Bloomquist, EdDL, kinesiologist (retired)
