Author: Lars Sandman
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education (UK)
ISBN: 0335227740
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 184
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Book Description
·Is there such a thing as a good death? ·Should we be able to choose how we wish to die? ·What are the ethical considerations that surround a good death? The notion of a ‘good death’ plays an important role in modern palliative care and remains a topic for lively debate. Using philosophical methods and theories, this book provides a critical analysis of Western notions surrounding the dying process in the palliative care context. Sandman highlights how our changing ideas about the value of life inevitably shape the concept of a good death. He explores the varying perspectives on the good death that come from friends, family, physicians, spiritual carers and others close to the dying person. Setting out a number of arguments for and against existing thinking about a good death, this book links to the practice of palliative care in several key areas including: ·An exploration of the universal features of dying ·The process of facing death ·Preparation for death ·The environment of dying and death The author concludes that it is difficult to find convincing reasons for any one way to die a good death and argues for a pluralist approach. A Good Death is essential reading for students and professionals with an interest in palliative care and end-of-life issues.
Author: Ann Neumann
Publisher: Beacon Press
ISBN: 0807076996
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 250
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Book Description
Following the death of her father, journalist and hospice volunteer Ann Neumann sets out to examine what it means to die well in the United States. When Ann Neumann’s father was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, she left her job and moved back to her hometown of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She became his full-time caregiver—cooking, cleaning, and administering medications. When her father died, she was undone by the experience, by grief and the visceral quality of dying. Neumann struggled to put her life back in order and found herself haunted by a question: Was her father’s death a good death? The way we talk about dying and the way we actually die are two very different things, she discovered, and many of us are shielded from what death actually looks like. To gain a better understanding, Neumann became a hospice volunteer and set out to discover what a good death is today. She attended conferences, academic lectures, and grief sessions in church basements. She went to Montana to talk with the attorney who successfully argued for the legalization of aid in dying, and to Scranton, Pennsylvania, to listen to “pro-life” groups who believe the removal of feeding tubes from some patients is tantamount to murder. Above all, she listened to the stories of those who were close to death. What Neumann found is that death in contemporary America is much more complicated than we think. Medical technologies and increased life expectancies have changed the very definition of medical death. And although death is our common fate, it is also a divisive issue that we all experience differently. What constitutes a good death is unique to each of us, depending on our age, race, economic status, culture, and beliefs. What’s more, differing concepts of choice, autonomy, and consent make death a contested landscape, governed by social, medical, legal, and religious systems. In these pages, Neumann brings us intimate portraits of the nurses, patients, bishops, bioethicists, and activists who are shaping the way we die. The Good Death presents a fearless examination of how we approach death, and how those of us close to dying loved ones live in death’s wake.
Author: Ranjana Srivastava
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1925750965
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 226
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Book Description
A powerful, timely exploration of the art of living and dying on our own terms by one of Australia’s most respected voices Of all the experiences we share, two universal events bookend our lives: we were all born and we will all die. We don't have a choice in how we enter the world but we can have a say in how we leave it. In order to die well, we must be prepared to contemplate our mortality and to broach it with our loved ones, who are often called upon to make important decisions on our behalf. These are some of the most important conversations we can have with each other - to find peace, kindness and gratitude for what has gone before, and acceptance of what is to come. Dr Ranjana Srivastava draws on two decades of experience to share her observations and advice on leading a meaningful life and finding dignity and composure at the end. With an emphasis on advocacy, leaving a legacy and staying true to our deepest convictions, Srivastava tells stories of strength, hope and resilience in the face of grief and offers an optimistic meditation on approaching the end of life. Intelligent, warm and deeply affecting, A Better Death is a passionate exploration of the art of living and dying well. Dr Ranjana Srivastava OAM is a practising oncologist, award-winning writer, broadcaster and Fulbright scholar. See www.ranjanasrivastava.com
Author: Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780020891307
Category : Death
Languages : en
Pages : 308
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Book Description
Author: Samuel Scheffler
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019998252X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 221
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Book Description
Suppose you knew that, though you yourself would live your life to its natural end, the earth and all its inhabitants would be destroyed thirty days after your death. To what extent would you remain committed to your current projects and plans? Would scientists still search for a cure for cancer? Would couples still want children? In Death and the Afterlife, philosopher Samuel Scheffler poses this thought experiment in order to show that the continued life of the human race after our deaths--the "afterlife" of the title--matters to us to an astonishing and previously neglected degree. Indeed, Scheffler shows that, in certain important respects, the future existence of people who are as yet unborn matters more to us than our own continued existence and the continued existence of those we love. Without the expectation that humanity has a future, many of the things that now matter to us would cease to do so. By contrast, the prospect of our own deaths does little to undermine our confidence in the value of our activities. Despite the terror we may feel when contemplating our deaths, the prospect of humanity's imminent extinction would pose a far greater threat to our ability to lead lives of wholehearted engagement. Scheffler further demonstrates that, although we are not unreasonable to fear death, personal immortality, like the imminent extinction of humanity, would also undermine our confidence in the values we hold dear. His arresting conclusion is that, in order for us to lead value-laden lives, what is necessary is that we ourselves should die and that others should live. Death and the Afterlife concludes with commentary by four distinguished philosophers--Harry Frankfurt, Niko Kolodny, Seana Shiffrin, and Susan Wolf--who discuss Scheffler's ideas with insight and imagination. Scheffler adds a final reply.
Author: Caitlin Doughty
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393249905
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 215
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Book Description
A New York Times and Los Angeles Times Bestseller “Doughty chronicles [death] practices with tenderheartedness, a technician’s fascination, and an unsentimental respect for grief.” —Jill Lepore, The New Yorker Fascinated by our pervasive fear of dead bodies, mortician Caitlin Doughty embarks on a global expedition to discover how other cultures care for the dead. From Zoroastrian sky burials to wish-granting Bolivian skulls, she investigates the world’s funerary customs and expands our sense of what it means to treat the dead with dignity. Her account questions the rituals of the American funeral industry—especially chemical embalming—and suggests that the most effective traditions are those that allow mourners to personally attend to the body of the deceased. Exquisitely illustrated by artist Landis Blair, From Here to Eternity is an adventure into the morbid unknown, a fascinating tour through the unique ways people everywhere confront mortality.
Author: Maggie Callanan
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1451677294
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 218
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Book Description
In this moving and compassionate classic—now updated with new material from the authors—hospice nurses Maggie Callanan and Patricia Kelley share their intimate experiences with patients at the end of life, drawn from more than twenty years’ experience tending the terminally ill. Through their stories we come to appreciate the near-miraculous ways in which the dying communicate their needs, reveal their feelings, and even choreograph their own final moments; we also discover the gifts—of wisdom, faith, and love—that the dying leave for the living to share. Filled with practical advice on responding to the requests of the dying and helping them prepare emotionally and spiritually for death, Final Gifts shows how we can help the dying person live fully to the very end.
Author: Simon Woods
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education (UK)
ISBN: 0335230407
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 194
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Book Description
"I enjoyed reading this book very much. It is very readable and well argued using real life cases and thought experiments as well … The book provides the reader with a short history of and an overview of the most important issues in modern palliative care. Various theoretical discussions are clearly set out, such as: the relationship between the hospice movement and modern palliative care, between palliative care and health care in general, between palliative sedation and euthanasia, and the question whether euthanasia can be part of palliative care. The author starts with exploring the existing debates and then develops his own arguments in a balanced and well-structured way." Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy "The text of this book is accessible, the philosophical and ethical arguments are clearly articulated, and relevant ethical principles are integrated into the critique of the issues, making this a very useful book for nurses working in palliative as well as in general care." Nursing Ethics "It is crucially important for any student or researcher who is seriously consideringethical and policy matters at the end of life to embrace and tackle intellectually the issues that Woods raises in this book. I would happily recommend it." Journal of Medical Ethics What constitutes a good death? Is it possible to arrange a good death? Is killing compatible with caring? This book looks at death and the issues and ethical dilemmas faced at the end of life. It addresses the central issues in the field such as: Withholding and withdrawing treatment Euthanasia and assisted suicide Terminal sedation The role of autonomy Palliative care Drawing on a philosophical framework, the author explores end-of-life issues in order to reflect on the nature of the good death and how this may be achieved. The book considers whether it is permissible or desirable to influence the quality of dying: offering palliative sedation as a possible alternative to terminal sedation, the argument is extended to examine why some forms of assisted dying can be shown to be compatible with the ideas of palliative care. Consideration is also given to future developments such as life extension techniques and the ethical questions that that these techniques might raise. As such, the book follows in the ongoing philosophical tradition to critique and analyse current thought on the topic of death, encouraging self-reflection in the reader and offering suggestions for practice in end-of-life care. Death’s Dominion is key reading for students and professionals involved in care of the dying, as well as those with an interest in the philosophical issues surrounding end-of-life care.
Author: Henk ten Have
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education (UK)
ISBN: 0335227295
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 254
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Book Description
How have Dutch debates on end-of-life care developed so differently from most other countries, finally resulting in the legalization of euthanasia? What are the relevant legal, medical and ethical dimensions of euthanasia and physician assisted suicide? What lessons can be learned from the Dutch experience with euthanasia? In all modern countries a good death and relief of suffering are important issues of public debate. The bioethical debate in the Netherlands is unique since it has been focusing on the issue of euthanasia for more than thirty years. This book describes the debate, explains its origins, and analyses its development, resulting in the legislation of euthanasia. It also presents data on the medical practice of euthanasia with examples of cases. Death and Medical Power details the evolution as well as the complexities of the legal responses to physician involvement in euthanasia. The authors analyze the ethical debate concerning euthanasia, discussing the pros and cons of medical termination of human life. The book concludes with a section on the lessons to be learned from the Dutch experience. This unique study will be of relevance to all clinicians and other professionals involved in end-of-life care, to health policy makers and educators, as well as anybody else interested in the ethics of euthanasia.
Author: Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1476775532
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 240
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Book Description
A guide to living life in the moment uses lessons learned from the dying to help the living find the most enjoyment and happiness.
