Facing the end of life
If you are the one who is ill, these stories offer a calm, clear look at what hospice care is like from the inside.
“I learned a different way to prepare my family for my death.”
The book
I’m herefor thebath.
Stories and Recipes for a Better Life
By Peter Rolita
More than sixty short stories from the thirty-plus years Peter Rolita cared for the dying and supported the people around them, with the recipes that kept love and connection alive along the way.
From the back cover
Real People. Extraordinary Lessons. A More Meaningful Life.
For more than three decades, Peter Rolita has knocked on doors, stepped into strangers’ homes, and cared for people during life’s most vulnerable moments. I’m Here for the Bath is a heartfelt collection of true stories from his years as a hospice aide—ordinary encounters that reveal extraordinary lessons about what it means to be human.
With warmth, honesty, and a touch of humor, Rolita shares the people, moments, and conversations that changed him—and the recipes that kept love and connection alive along the way. These stories invite us to look at death with less fear, to value the time we have, and to live more fully, more kindly, and more intentionally.
Compassionate stories. Meaningful recipes. A richer life.
Peter Rolita is a longtime hospice aide with more than thirty years of healthcare experience. Through his writing, he hopes to bring greater understanding, comfort, and humanity to the conversations we all eventually face.
In his words
A note from Peter
I’m Here for the Bath was a labor of love for me to write. In the sixty plus short stories that I put together for you I shared not only the experiences of the people I served and their caregivers but my own as well. My life unfolded during the thirty plus years I cared for the dying and supported the people around them. My work as a hospice aide molded me, shaped me and guided me in ways I could not have imagined. I honor the people I cared for and the people I worked with in these pages. I have not seen another book written in this way by a caregiver like me. Enjoy
Peter Rolita. From the back cover of the 2021 and 2022 editions.
A rare point of view
Why an aide’s view matters
Books about dying are often written by doctors, nurses or family members. Hospice aides are the members of the care team who give hands-on personal care: bathing, dressing, helping people move and keeping them comfortable, with a registered nurse overseeing their work.
Peter’s stories come from that bedside. They show the work itself, the people he cared for and what he learned from both.
When readers finish my book, I want them to have a better understanding of dying and have tools they can use when they or someone in their life dies.
Inside the book
What the stories hold
More than sixty short stories about the people Peter served, their caregivers and his own life in hospice work. Readers describe moments that are tender, difficult and sometimes funny.
- Grief
- Loneliness
- Marriage
- Forgiveness
- Resentment
- Purpose
- Love
- Laughter
Themes readers named in their reviews.
Who it’s for
Written for the people at the bedside
Caring for someone you love
When someone close to you is dying, it helps to know what the days may hold. The stories show the daily care, the changes that come near the end and the moments that still matter.
“It describes how your body reacts to the different changes when you are close to the end.”
Working in care
Hospice aides, nurses and other caregivers will recognize their own work here. One hospice aide reads the stories to patients and recommends the book to anyone thinking about a career in caregiving.
For readers, booksellers and librarians
Book details
| Title | I’m Here for the Bath |
|---|---|
| Subtitle | Stories and Recipes for a Better Life |
| Author | Peter Rolita. Some editions list him as P.E. Rolita. |
| Genre | Memoir, short stories |
| Subjects | Hospice care, end-of-life care, caregiving, grief |
| Language | English. Also available in Malay. |
| Length | 352 pages in print. 7 hours 17 minutes as an audiobook. |
| Trim size | 6 × 9 in (hardcover) |
| First published | 2016, Balboa Press |
The book has been published in several editions since 2016. The table below lists each edition with its ISBN, so readers, bookstores and libraries can order the right one.
| Edition | Year | ISBN-13 | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardcover | 2022 | 978-1-952750-29-8 | 352 pages |
| Paperback | 2021 | 978-1-952750-25-0 | 352 pages |
| eBook (EPUB) | 2022 | 978-1-952750-30-4 | Reflowable |
| Audiobook | Not listed | Not listed | 7 hours 17 minutes |
| Paperback, Lulu edition (Stories and Recipes for a Better Life) | 2025 | 978-1-300-40382-1 | 352 pages |
| Malay translation, paperback (Saya Datang untuk memberi Mandian) | 2025 | 978-1-257-78594-0 | 329 pages |
| First edition, hardcover (Balboa Press) | 2016 | 978-1-5043-4168-4 | 282 pages |
| First edition, softcover (Balboa Press) | 2016 | 978-1-5043-4166-0 | 282 pages |
| First edition, eBook (Balboa Press) | 2016 | 978-1-5043-4167-7 | Reflowable |
Readers
Word from readers
I really believe this book would be a great read for those who are going through the end-of-life process, whether it’s them or a family member.
Reading this book is like getting a behind-the-scenes view of hospice care.
You will find yourself laughing at times. This is a unique and interesting book, as well as educational.
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