After reading the different stories in the book “Final Gifts”, I believe I have a better understanding of the role of the nurse in caring for the needs of the patient dying and how their families should be guided through this experience. The different stories in this book provide insight into the experiences of the dying as well as how their loved ones cope with their loss. Authors Maggie Callahan and Patrician Kelly, experienced palliative care nurses who have extensive contact with dying patients and their families, paint, through their shared stories, a picture of what the dying want. For many, death is a difficult concept. As a nursing student, I was exposed to death during patient care. My first encounter with direct death was seeing a patient die in the emergency room after a resuscitation attempt. As I observed others' reactions, I noticed that I was the only one who seemed baffled by the preceding events and the end result, even though I didn't outwardly show it. During my clinical rotation in aging and end of life, I was exposed to a near-death experience with a family and had the rewarding experience of forming a relationship with the patient's wife during the short hour I was at their house. Reading the stories in this book reinforced for me the importance of addressing the needs of the family and the dying as an important issue to address as they are essential to overall care. As a nurse, it is important to meet a patient's needs during care. These needs are unique to each individual and their personalization allows patients to feel truly cared for. It is important to be informed of these needs because patients and their families look to you for guidance; therefore, education on things that were in the middle of a paper...and died in the posture of rocking a baby with a look of happiness on the face (Callanan, 1992, p. 191). This helped her family find comfort in knowing that she did not die alone and would be reunited with a loved one, which helped her family with their grieving process. The stories in this book were great to read. I expected to be somewhat depressed by so many death stories, but I was inspired and learned a lot about how to communicate effectively. I was comforted by the amount of compassion, love and kindness shared during times of grief. It is important to recognize that even if people are days or hours away from death, they are still individuals going through a transition, with unique emotions and sensations. Caregivers have the honor of being a part of families' lives, even if only for a short time, as they experience this with their dying loved one..