The essential guide for every patient and family
The doctor’s office called. It’s not good news. What comes next? When you are diagnosed with a life-changing illness, it can be overwhelming. While your diagnosis cannot be changed, the way you experience your illness can.
In Hope for the Best, Plan for the Rest, Dr. Seow and Dr. Winemaker have combined their decades of palliative care research and experience in caring for seriously ill patients. They have harnessed the advice of thousands of patients to create a roadmap that every patient and family will benefit from. In it, they share the 7 keys to unlock a better illness experience and reveal stories, tips and exercises to improve your journey right from diagnosis. These two compassionate experts empower you with practical tools to take charge of your life-changing diagnosis and navigate the health care system with confidence, knowledge, and calm.
This book is about hope in the face of uncertainty. It’s about how to live well, be fully informed, and be activated. How to feel more like a person, not a patient. But most of all, how to be hopeful and prepared at every step along the way.

Samantha Winemaker's profile page

Hsien Seow's profile page

Sammy and Hsien have spent their careers helping those who are facing a life-changing illness. For years, they often heard patients and families say they felt unprepared and overwhelmed. Despite spending years on education, research, and advocacy, they continued to hear patients and families say “Why didn’t anyone tell me that sooner?”
Ultimately they realized they needed to show patients and families how to become activated so they could have more choice and control about their care. Through interviews with experts, clinicians, patients and caregivers, they are harnessing the advice of those with lived experience to better prepare those who are just starting their health care journey.
But they cannot do it alone. They are building a community called the Waiting Room Revolution to improve the illness experience. Together with patients, families, and communities, they are transforming the patient journey and bringing the humanity back into health care.
Samantha Winemaker, MD, is a palliative care physician who cares for patients with serious illness and their families in the home. She is an Associate Clinical Professor at McMaster University in the Department of Family Medicine, Division of Palliative Care. She has won numerous awards for her leadership and palliative care education for health care professionals.
Hsien Seow, PhD, is the Canada Research Chair in Palliative Care and Health System Innovation and an Associate Professor in the Department of Oncology, McMaster University. He publishes health care research focused on improving the patient and family experience for those facing serious illness. He is the co-author of The Tao of Innovation: 9 Questions Every Innovator Must Answer.

"This book is really a love letter to palliative care—to its principles and philosophy, to its ideals and methods, and to its patients. Winemaker’s and Seow’s expertise shines through in their ability to convey complex concepts in a clear and accessible manner along with a writing style that is compassionate and engaging. Hope for the Best, Plan for the Rest is an indispensable resource for anyone facing a life-changing illness."

<i>Journal of Palliative Medicine</i>

"Hope for the Best, Plan for the Rest offers a fresh, welcome, and long-overdue opportunity for all of us to think and act differently when challenged by a diagnosis. Its insights and suggestions are valuable for patients, families, and health care professionals alike. The easy, personal style of this book makes it a great companion for anyone who must journey through a difficult time of uncertainty and fear. I recommend it wholeheartedly."

director of education, research, and end of life policy at St Christopher’s Hospice, London, UK

"This is a much-needed book. The authors offer an engaging, positive, and helpful set of principles to people who are sick, their close supporters, and those who want to help them navigate the challenge of serious illness—including dying—their way. This book is like a conversation with a wise coach on adapting the system so that health care is tailored to your individual preferences. Hope for the Best, Plan for the Rest is kind, clear, and system-changing: a clarion call for a patient-led revolution in health care."

palliative care physician and <i>Sunday Times</i>–bestselling author of <i>With the End in Mind</i> and <i>Listen</i>

"Hope for the Best, Plan for the Rest offers succinct, practical tips for getting the best care and living well through the course of your illness."

palliative care physician and bestselling author of <i>The Four Things That Matter Most</i> and <i>The Best Care Possible</i>

"This rigorous and compassionate book—the result of two thought leaders’ experiences in research and medical practice—helps to dispel the chaos and uncertainty of receiving a new and life-changing diagnosis. Drs. Sammy Winemaker and Hsien Seow are wise and relentless guides who offer practical and hard-won advice that will empower people to take charge of their health and destiny no matter what they face."

palliative care physician and author of <i>That Good Night</i>

"Shout it from the rooftops, the Waiting Room Revolution has begun! With Drs. Sammy Winemaker and Hsien Seow leading the charge, no patient or family member will face illness with their eyes wide shut ever again!"

author of <i>Dignity Therapy</i> and <i>Dignity in Care</i>

"A lightning bolt of hope! This book shows patients and families struggling with serious illness how to get the honest, personalized care they need. Hope for the Best, Plan for the Rest is a palliative care tour de force and essential reading for all who feel overwhelmed and alone in the health care system, along with the clinicians who care for them."

<i>New York Times</i>–bestselling author of <i>Healing</i> and <i>The Shift</i>

"Drs. Sammy Winemaker and Hsien Seow are leading a revolution—one we all need to be a part of! Get planning! Their decades of research, as well as clinical and lived experience, are compiled here to provide readers with essential keys to navigating illness. Do yourself a favor: read this book and make sure your family and friends do too!"

author of <i>Talking about Death Won’t Kill You</i>

"An essential read, full of practical tools for those who are newly diagnosed, engaged in caregiving, or simply want to support someone with compassion. Hope for the Best, Plan for the Rest shows you how to amplify your voice, access the best possible care, and best prepare for your future health care needs—your way. This book is like having your own personal health care mentor at your side, teaching you how to have honest, open conversations with your needs front and center."

CEO of the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association