A LEICESTER man has released a book which is designed to help people cope with loss, sharing what he has learned in over 20 years of volunteering at LOROS hospice.
Tony Bhaur is a LOROS ambassador and has been volunteering with the charity for 22 years.
As well as helping with fundraising events he has supported the counselling team, and has now written a book about his experiences, ‘Life, Death And After: A self-help guide for loss, bereavement and grief’ which has just been published.
Mr Bhaur launched the book at the Hospice last Sunday, and revealed how volunteering there had changed his perspective on life.
“LOROS had provided me with opportunities to engage with patients, their friends and families, carers, professional dealing with end of life and above all empathy, compassion and listening skills,” he told the Leicester Times.
“It is an honour and a privilege for me to counsel people and for them to trust and open up to me in their final days.
“I feel as though I’m making a difference, and that’s why I’ve volunteered for so many years,” he added.
“It means so much more than a huge amount of wealth. You can’t put a price on it.”
Tony spent his working life as a building surveyor. However in recent years he has studied psychology, and has taken several courses to deal with end-of-life care in order to help him with his work at the hospice.
He began writing his book in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, as a response to the huge death toll.
It was also written in order to help the bereaved deal with their loss, at a time when there was a huge strain on NHS services.
“The pandemic bought so much death and people were facing it in a different way,” said Tony.
“People were dying alone, and loved ones weren’t allowed to see them. It was hard and I felt that there was an urgent need for a book like this to help people with their loss when counselling services were at such a strain.
“I felt that it was my duty to write this book and also a great privilege,” he added. “So far the reaction has been very strong. It makes me feel so humbled that professionals are taking notice and ordinary people are reaching for it in their most vulnerable time.”
The book is a culmination of Tony’s own personal stories, knowledge from experts in various related fields and contributions from various respected professionals.
So far, 500 copies of the book have been donated to hospices across the world.
All profits from the sales will be donated to LOROS.
To find out more, visit: https://www.amazon.com/Life-Death-After-self-help-bereavement-ebook/dp/B09MW82D3C
By Louise Steel
