Goodbye, Walter: The Inspiring Story of a Terminal Cancer Patient

Praise for Goodbye, Walter:

Karen Villaneuva served as judge of the nonfiction books, memoir category in Arizona Press Women's Communications Awards, in which Goodbye, Walter placed first. The book has advanced to national competition with the National Federation of Press Women's 2006 Communications Contest. Results will be announced in Denver this fall.

Karen Villaneuva, a book publicist with Author Care who has worked with best-selling authors regionally and nationally. She describes "Goodbye, Walter" as, "An intimate look at the process of death and the human heart and spirit. As Hogue struggles with her own "deaths" and rebirths, she finds salvation in her hospice care assignment. Hospice care "saves" Walter Schifter and Walter Schifter saves RuthAnn Hogue. Providing a rare glimpse into the mind of a dying man, Hogue's book also renders a moving portrait of the intimates involved: Their highs and lows, their joys and sufferings, as well as their moments of enlightenment. For those of little faith, and for those of great faith. Touching and commendable."

Reporter RuthAnn Hogue's 1997 newspaper series of daily interviews with terminal cancer patient Walter Schifter during his final three weeks of life was itself a remarkable and beautiful piece of journalism. In her new book, "Goodbye Walter," Hogue revisits those three weeks much like a "The Making Of..." documentary film. This time, she inserts herself and her reporter's notebook solidly into the story and shares her thoughts and feelings as her friendship with Walter grows even as his health deteriorates. Her candor about her own emotions and her sensitivity to Walter's hopeless plight are touching and gentle. Her skillful story-telling draws you in and won't let go. Hogue quite literally lets you see into her soul. A very honest and gutsy book as well as a very good read.

-Anthony Sommer, newspaper reporter (The Phoenix Gazette 1972-1996 and the Honolulu Star-Bulletin 1998-2005).

Foreword to:
Goodbye, Walter: The Inspiring Story of a Terminal Cancer Patient
by Dr. C. Stratton Hill
1996 recipient of the Humanitarian Award of the American Cancer Society
and author of Drug Treatment of Cancer Pain

Walter Schifter was a successful entrepreneur who had lived a full life, and had moved from Evansville, Indiana, to Sun City West, Arizona, to enjoy a comfortable retirement.Then came the bad news: He was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Treatments, however, proved successful and drove the disease into remission. Nevertheless, in 1996 thirteen years after the original diagnosis, the cancer returned. Slowly, it crept through his body. A metastasis lodged in his knee. Treatments to his knee left nearby bones so brittle that they broke, and left the tissue charred.The disease sapped his strength and drained his appetite. The pain was consuming. Once a proud protector and provider for his family, he now had to rely on a wheelchair powered by his wife for his very mobility. He felt helpless, useless, profoundly depressed. When he asked his physician for a stronger pain medication, the physician refused.For a time, the solution that seemed to make the most sense for Walter was suicide. There was a loaded handgun in the bedroom cabinet—it would have been so easy...But the story has a happier ending than that. Hospice care, with compassionate treatment of Walter’s pain, attention to his needs, administered by staff and physicians that understood what he was going through, brought meaning back to his life.Goodbye, Walter: The Inspiring Story of a Terminal Cancer Patient, is a diary of the final weeks of Walter’s life. They reveal a man with a rich personality who was able to learn to enjoy life right up until the very end. They show a man who discovers his mission—a mission to teach the rest of us what is really important in life and to show us how we can help other Walters in the world.

I commend this story to you: to you relatives of the terminally ill, to you caregivers, to you clergy, to you physicians and nurses, to anyone whose life is touched by the helpless among us. This short biography of a few weeks in the life of one man is one that is eminently worthwhile. In our hectic, impersonal world, here is a narrative that dramatizes the dignity of being human, a dignity which should remain with us through all circumstances, from the beginning of life right up until the very end.

Book Synopsis:

Terminal cancer patient Walter Schifter was contemplating his life. Reporter RuthAnn Hogue was documenting both his life and impending death while contemplating a few eternal matters of her own. Barely out of journalism school, the 33-year-old mother of five was nearing her final court date in divorce court. She hadn't been to church in months.

At least she had a best friend to see her through the turmoil. If only she were single already, maybe he could be her boyfriend. But there were serious issues to consider. For starters, Jason, a talented television news producer working for the top-rated local morning show, was more than 12 years her junior. On top of that, they belonged to different faiths.

Throw in a budding friendship with someone of the opposite sex before the divorce was final -- at a time when nearly every day required thinking about the eternal consequences of life and death, and you've got a stew--thicker than the Manhattan clam chowder Walter's wife, Lillian, was known for whipping up.

Amidst all this, RuthAnn visited Walter frequently and reported his thoughts and fears in a three-week series for the Daily News-Sun, a newspaper serving the Sun Cities in Arizona. Walter experiences a spiritual awakening as he approaches the end of his life, and, through her acquaintance with Walter, RuthAnn has a spiritual awakening of her own. Join them on this journey to the edge of life in this remarkable and inspiring story.