Irene Allison – World traveler, creative writer, former teacher and technical author, Irene inherited her mother’s unconventional spirit and love for the power of story. In this mother-daughter collaboration, a rallying cry for care when we need it most, Irene is honored to join a growing movement that invites heart into healthcare and compassion into our lives. For more information, visit: www.ireneallison.com

Helen Allison, R.N., B.A., B.S.W., M.S.W. – Scottish highlander by birth, Canadian by home, Helen was born with healing hands and a caregiving heart. During her long career as a palliative nurse and medical social worker, Helen pursued a person-centered approach to champion the ill and their families. Senior author of Social Work Services as a Component of Palliative Care with Terminal Cancer Patients (Haworth Press). Now, and with the help of her daughter, Helen shares her life’s learning that to ease suffering, the art of care must embody patient wisdom.

Serious illness is a drama of body, mind, and soul where symptoms and suffering cannot be separated from the person who is ill.  Yet that is what happens because our medical system, so focused on technology and cure, loses sight of the person behind the illness. The result is cruel and needless suffering.

It’s time to revive the Art of Care. If we fully embrace the human side of illness, if we remove the false barriers separating caregivers from the seriously ill, we can meet in that space of shared humanity and universal human needs. This is the space of heart and compassion where healing hands can be guided by the wisdom of the patient, a space where suffering eases.

From the voices of the seriously ill and the lifelong experience of a pioneer in palliative care, comes the drama of patient stories showing how we can bring heart back into healthcare and compassion where we need it most.