This book speaks to our feelings of helplessness and perhaps hopelessness, our frustration that we are unable to do anything to restore health to an ailing loved one. Horowitz, a writer who has "been there", and Lanes, a psychiatrist who works with the critically ill, show us that we don't have to be passive. The book follows the course of events in a typical illness - from handling the initial bad news, through caregiving, to the long-term effects of the illness, and suggests specific practical ways in which we can actively contribute to the survival and well-being of the patient.