The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

Hadley Vlahos, R.N.

Jun 2023 · Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by Hadley Vlahos, R.N.

About this audiobook

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Passionate advocate for end-of-life care and TikTok star Hadley Vlahos shares moving stories of joy, wisdom, and redemption from her patients’ final moments in this “brilliant” (Zibby Owens, Good Morning America) memoir.
 
“This extraordinary book helps dispel fear around death and dying—revealing it to be a natural part of our soul’s evolution.”—Laura Lynne Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of Signs and The Light Between Us

Talking about death and dying is considered taboo in polite company, and even in the medical field. Our ideas about dying are confusing at best: Will our memories flash before our eyes? Regrets consume our thoughts? Does a bright light appear at the end of a tunnel? For most people, it will be a slower process, one eased with preparedness, good humor, and a bit of faith. At the forefront of changing attitudes around palliative care is hospice nurse Hadley Vlahos, who shows that end-of-life care can teach us just as much about how to live as it does about how we die.
 
Vlahos was raised in a strict religious household, but began questioning her beliefs in high school after the sudden death of a friend. When she got pregnant at nineteen, she was shunned by her community and enrolled herself in nursing school to be able to support herself and her baby. But nursing soon became more than a job: when she focused on palliative care and hospice work, it became a calling. 
 
In The In-Between, Vlahos recounts the most impactful experiences she’s had with the people she’s worked with—from the woman who never once questioned her faith until she was close to death, to the older man seeing visions of his late daughter, to the young patient who laments that she spent too much of her short life worrying about what others thought of her—while also sharing her own fascinating journey.
 
Written with profound insight, humility, and respect, The In-Between is a heartrending memoir that shows how caring for others can transform a life while also offering wisdom and comfort for those dealing with loss and providing inspiration for how to live now.

Ratings and reviews

When some of Hadley's videos showed up on my YouTube feeds, I decided to buy this book. It weaves a heartfelt set of patient stories/personal experiences that I can relate to as a former hospice staff. Hadley does a beautiful job of weaving the significance of each story into how it relates to life in general. Based on the storytelling, I would recommend it for anyone who wants to know more about hospice. The personal narrative of hospice work, sacrifices it entails, and the typical (and unexpected) day to day events is why I would highly recommend this book to all hospice care givers, staff, and volunteers. Finally, for the detail in hospice experiences, social connections, and insights from each patient story, I would recommend this book to everyone! Hadley is a beautiful storyteller with great descriptions of settings and patients and relationships. A very heartfelt book I'm grateful to have in my collection.

Absolutely beautiful. I lost my dear sweet Mama just a few weeks ago, I wanted a better understanding of some of the things I witnessed her last few weeks. So many similar experiences. Thank you for this beautiful, comforting book.

In love with this book. I work in a hospital and love the perspective of death in this book. This gave me a lot of knowledge in my professional roll but also in my personal life, thank you 🥰