Hospice nurse Julie McFadden, known online to millions as "Hospice Nurse Julie,” has drawn profound lessons from her years at the bedside of dying patients. The best-selling author of *Nothing to Fear: Demystifying Death to Live More Fully* regularly shares the wisdom she’s gathered from those final moments—including three habits she personally avoids to protect her longevity: daily alcohol consumption, smoking or vaping, and riding motorcycles or ATVs.
"Vaping is just as bad as smoking,” she emphasizes. "It affects more than just the lungs. It affects your whole cardiovascular system.” Regarding alcohol, she notes, "I’ve seen enough people die alcoholic deaths, meaning from liver cirrhosis, to know that it is not good. And it is preventable.”
Beyond lifestyle warnings, Julie often reflects on the most common regrets expressed by her patients. In a recent podcast appearance, she shared that many wish they hadn’t spent so much of their lives working—a difficult balance given financial pressures.
But the regret voiced even more frequently is deeply personal and within everyone’s control: "The main thing people say is, ‘I wish I would have appreciated my health.’”
Witnessing this consistent reflection has changed how Julie lives. Now, each night, she writes a gratitude list—acknowledging simple blessings like the ability to breathe, walk, or feel the sunshine. "I think the biggest thing I hear from people who are dying,” she says, "is that they wish they would have appreciated how well they felt before.”
