The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

When my dad died during Covid, I spent a lot of time gathering books on the afterlife. Honestly, atleast in the beginning, I got obsessive about other experiences. While the world went on around us, arguing if Covid was real and friends and family, my mom and I sat in the ICU saying goodbye to my 61 year old healthy father who contracted Covid and died in two weeks. What ticked me off the most was that the hospital "protocol" wouldn't let us see him while he sat alone in the hospital for 2 weeks, completely alert, but the minute he died they let us suit up and go in his room. Its been two years and I am still angry about how it all went down.I came across Nurse Hadley a few years ago on TikTok. Because the internet is so good at spying on our innermost thoughts, it was likely fed to me as an afterlife genre account. What I found is that I liked her so much that I stuck around, learning about her work and patients. When her book came out, I grabbed it immediately.To start, the book was incredibly well written and edited. It had an actual voice to it and a beautiful rhythm of hope and loss, fear and joy, and in one moment you would be crying and in the next, sobered and contemplating.I think this book is for everyone - its not just about the afterlife, or really necessarily the afterlife at all - its about the final moments and how different they can be in the end, but also so much the same. Its about medical anomalies and also the struggle of finding your own work/life balance and passion.Nurse Hadley put into a book things we often talk about around here - how when we walked out of the hospital the sun was shining, people were driving, kids were playing, restaurants were full - how life goes on around you no matter the tragedy of each person. It was also something that continues to strike me personally on a daily basis.I think this book is well worth the read - no matter your own experience or feelings of the afterlife, or lack thereof, the stories are interesting, the book is excellent, and I, for one, hope she continues to publish many more books and offer, if anything, a bit of empathy for those around us.

I finished reading this book last night and haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since I first picked it up. It’s beautifully written, with Nurse Hadley brilliantly weaving her personal life with the stories of her patients. I felt like I got to know each patient and I cried each time she wrote of their passing. I loved getting to know Nurse Hadley and her family through her words and stories about them. Fun fact: because I’ve been following Nurse Hadley on Instagram (which I highly recommend) for a while, I heard her sweet voice in my head as I read the entire book.One of the reasons I couldn’t wait to read this book is because I’ve long been terrified of dying. While I believe there is some sort of afterlife, none of us truly know what that looks like. I’ve pondered whether it would be better to die suddenly (to avoid knowing that the end was imminent) but not having any opportunity to say goodbye to loved ones, or if it would be better to die a long-drawn-out death (in pain) but with a chance to come to terms with what’s to come. While we don’t have this choice, Nurse Hadley made me realize that the latter shouldn’t include pain and in fact, could allow an opportunity to feel at peace. It brought me great comfort to think that my long passed loved ones will be waiting to greet me as I pass over from this life to the next. Important to note is that this book is not based in religion. Don't feel that you need to be religious or even believe in an afterlife to find value and comfort in this book. It will speak to you regardless of your belief system.The world needs more kind, caring and compassionate people like Nurse Hadley. I can only hope that when my time comes, I have someone like her by my side, easing the transition from this life to the next. I really hope Nurse Hadley decides to write another book (I’d pre-order it now)!

As I mentioned in a post the other day I have been anxiously awaiting this book. It has spoke to me since I first heard about it being published. When I opened it and the first story was about a woman named Glenda I immediately closed it. Thinking I can’t do this. Not with a woman with my own mama’s name. I even hyperventilated a little. After a bit I persevered and kept reading and kept reading until I finished the book. I have cried silently while sleeping next to my husband. I have cried in the shower. I have cried for the sadness the families have experienced but I have also cried thinking about my mama and her experience. I know she believed in heaven and having a life without the physical disabilities she experienced on earth. I have to believe those she loved who passed before her were there to welcome her. Her passing was peaceful with my dad and I holding her hand. I will always believe I was the privileged one in being with her in her last 24 hours on this earth.Nurse Hadley and those who chose to spend their life dedicating to making death easier for all involved are heroes. I know the nurse who tended to my mama in her last few hours was wonderful. She explained everything to me, held my hand, and told me what she would do after mama passed. I couldn’t tell you her name but I will never forget her kindness. The way she held my shoulder as I had to sign the paper confirming her passing. Between her and my husband I am not sure I could have ever done that alone.This book is perfect for anyone who wants to know more about hospice or what those passing experience. Read with tissues.Five stars is not enough for the gem of a book.

I don't know if I believe in life after death, but I also don't know that I don't either.My grandmother had similar experiences before passing, that are shared in this book and it is comforting to think that she wasn't just delerious from medication, but was actually seeing her parents and husband.The book was amazing to read, so well written and thought provoking. It also makes you feel like you knew these people personally.Thank you Hadley for sharing your experiences with us.

I couldn't stop reading this book, so many beautiful stories, interesting and peaceful at the time. Didn't want it to end, would definitely recommend.

I finished this book in one gulp this morning, the second it dropped. It is poignant, but more importantly, it is an approach to death that is almost disarming in it's gentleness without being patronizing. Hadley's experiences are my experiences, yours even, because they are so universally simple, and her emotions are human without the stories being emotionally overwhelming. As someone who hates books on death, as most folks do, this is the one to read, because you're not given direct answers to the big questions so much as little accounts from which you are very much free and even encouraged to draw your own conclusions. Whether you are in the midst of loss, or angry, or numb, this book presents a real possibility of beauty when death comes that most people cannot fathom exists. And it's all done in a very non-religious, factual way. This is a book that every human should read before they finish being human and one that will help even the most burdened lay down some of what they are carrying just as I did.

I started reading this book tonight and have found it very hard to put down. The stories that she has shared that are between her and her patients and family members are beautiful. I have been beside someone that I cared for recently when they passed away and It was the most upsetting but amazing moment at the same time. Reading her words is like being right back in that moment. What a lovely lady Hadley is!

This book has been such an enjoyable, easy read. Heartbreaking, beautiful, eye opening, thought provoking. It really helps you rethink your priorities and realize when it's your time, it's the people you love who you're going to be looking for, so you need to spend your days cherishing them. My Mom worked as a nurse for patients on palliative care most of her career and I couldn't understand how she did it without being so depressed. Reading this book, I think I get it now. I also have learned so much about Alzheimer's through Hadley's story of Edith, making me realize how uneducated I was. Thank you Nurse Hadley for sharing your story, their stories, and for loving your patients with your whole heart.