Gone From My Sight: The Dying Experience

With over 30 million sold the "Little Blue Book" is the first, most beloved and widely used resource of its kind. Written by American hospice pioneer Barbara Karnes, RN, Gone From My Sight explains the signs of approaching death from disease and old age.

What are the signs of dying? Death from disease is not happenstance. It doesn't just occur; there is a process. People die in stages of months, weeks, day and hours. Having this knowledge will help address the fear of death and dying that most of us bring to the bedside of a person approaching death.

The biggest fear in watching someone die is fear of the unknown. Gone From My Sight reduces that fear. It is designed to help people understand the normal, natural way that death occurs from disease or old age. Like her other booklets, How Do I Know You?, A Time To Live and My Friend, I Care - Gone From My Sight is in large print and written on a fifth grade reading level in a manner that is simple and direct, yet gentle.

Gone From My Sight has been shown to significantly improve CAHPS scores, family survey results, meets Medicare requirements for consistent family education, and is a powerful marketing resource when branded with an agency logo or sticker.

Agencies put it along with its companion booklet, The Eleventh Hour, into their initial family packets to inform families on the signs of approaching death.

Use this guideline while remembering there is nothing concrete, all is very flexible. Any one of the signs in this booklet may be present, all may be present, none may be present. For some it will take months for others only minutes. The most frequently asked question Barbara gets from families is “How long?” Gone From My Sight will give as close and accurate an answer to that question as can be provided.