About the guidebook series

The author and illustrator , Christina Heyworth,  has walked alongside many of her family members during their hospice experiences.  While she sat alongside one of her loved ones during the summer of 2021,  she used the time to plan for her final semester of her MA program in art therapy and counseling.  Heyworth knew she would be required to initiate and complete an art-based research project during that semester, and she was unsure what she wanted her project to be about.  Her thoughts were completely occupied by her current circumstances and the lack of support she felt from the hospice materials that had been provided.

In addition to many years worth of her own personal experience walking alongside loved ones, Heyworth had also spend a year working as an art therapy hospice intern in the Chicago area.  Heyworth realized that the end-of-life booklets she had been given to help navigate her journey did not reflect her needs.  Heyworth was also aware that she had gained a great deal of knowledge through her personal experience as well as her time working with other families as an intern.

From that moment, Heyworth began to create the first ever art therapy hospice guidebook.  Her 60 page research paper can be accessed through the SAIC Thesis Repository and the second edition of volume one is now available on Amazon. 

The first volume uses graphic medicine (comic style artwork that discusses medical information) to describe the end-of-life journey and includes ten art activities that are designed to appeal to a range of ages and interests.

Additional volumes are currently being created with the goal of addressing an even wider range of circumstances.  The second volume is focused on explaining the end-of-life journey to children.  Additional volumes plan to address the following: cancer, memory care, heart & lung, pediatric, and much more.

Each additional volume will also draw from the available scholarly literature to make sure the most updated and accurate information is included.  Each guidebook is meant to be used as an extension of hospice services, and none of the guidebooks serve as a substitution for personalized art therapy sessions.