MUSICIANS OFFER INSIGHT AND GUIDANCE TO END-OF-LIFE CARE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 13, 2009

MUSICIANS OFFER INSIGHT AND GUIDANCE TO END-OF-LIFE CARE

Santa Fe, New Mexico-Kevin and Karen McLaughlin have just released their new album "With Love and Appreciation (When a Loved One Dies)" which offers the fruits of their journey of caring for and emotionally supporting the dying.

Inspired by traditional Buddhist, Christian and Hindu teachings, this album is a source for all those who are charged with a dying person's care, facing their own death, or wishing to better understand the transformative power of the dying process.

The McLaughlins offer lessons inspired by Joan Farnham McLaughlin's life and death (1918-2008) to help their audience contemplate death without fear, develop a commitment to helping others, and transform suffering and resistance into courage.

This compelling, brave, and wise album draws from a very personal experience with people at the end of life. "With Love and Appreciation" is a gift of wisdom and practical guidance for living. Karen and Kevin McLaughlin help people face death with courage, and train professional and family caregivers in compassionate and ethical end-of-life care through this album and their talks and performances.

"This album and our current work is a tribute to the close relationship we had with my mother that was so uplifting and inspirational," says Kevin McLaughlin. "I was fortunate to become a close friend with my mother as an adult. During a phone call with her when she was 89 years old she told me she only had a few months left to live. It was during the months before her death that I wrote the first five songs on "With Love and Appreciation (When a Loved One Dies)."

"This beautiful tribute to a dying mother continues to touch my heart each time I listen to the songs written and performed by Kevin and Karen McLaughlin, says Dawn Honnaka, friend and fellow caregiver to her own deceased parents at the end of their lives."The life journey we all go through with family and relationships, friendships and love affairs, joys and sorrows, are universally shared by all. This album reflects the lasting bonds created by love that survives the death of a parent. The truth of eternal love and connection among us all is the deeper gift we receive in listening to the music and lyrics of the McLaughlins."

PERFORMANCES
For the past 35 years Kevin McLaughlin has recorded in the studio, performed with many top bands in night clubs, festivals, fairs, civic events, and many other musical events. Karen and Kevin have been performing and recording music together for 15 years. With the release of "With Love and Appreciation (When a Loved One Dies)," the McLaughlins have dedicated their talent and years of experience to a music and lecture program on end-of-life care that is uplifting and full of clarity and compassion.

Kevin plays acoustic guitar, Karen plays percussion, and both contribute voice. The presentation consists of a performance of each song with a discussion of the creative process of the song and its relevance to the emotional journey while introducing each song, followed by whatever questions that the audience may have and general discussion. Karen also offers her insights gained from working as a certified nurse assistant in nursing homes. Kevin had the honor of assisting his grandmother at the end of her life when she lived with Joan, which he refers to in lyrics on the album.BOOKINGS: (503) 720-8343

CD

"With Love and Appreciation (When a Loved One Dies)". Released May 2009. $15. (http://www.withloveworld.com/) (503) 720-8345.The 11-track set was produced by Blue Sky Production.   Also available in Santa Fe: Hastings Books in the Local Artist Music section, St. Vincent Hospital Gift Shop. http://www.withloveworld.com/

Contact:
Jennifer Marshall
505-231-1776
jennifer@jmarshallplan.com
www.jmarshallplan.com