The prospect for growth at the end of life.
Most of us don’t know how to handle dying. In part what we lack is factual. We don’t know what the body does when it dies. We don’t know the sights and smells and sounds of death. We don’t know what to expect.
And there is the other part, too. We don’t know what to say, what not to say, when to offer to aid, and when to withdraw aid.
In Dying Well, Ira Byock profiles a dozen people and their families as they deal with an approaching death. Each chapter is written like fiction, with characters, dialogue, and plot. But these are all real people brought to life by a medical doctor who is a talented writer.
Personal Experience
The stories, beginning with the first, are compelling. Getting a phone call from his dad across the country, the author hears symptoms and understands what they mean. As he writes, “I was the first person to know that my father was dying.”
Ira Byock has learned a great deal about the dying, and the lessons in the book come more from his stories than from his conclusions.
Dying Well deals with the universal issues of death: finding dignity in the midst of disease, facing pain physical and emotional, letting go and growing on. The people in the book range from the very young to the very old, and one man even gains a reprieve from death through a successful new surgery.
Based on his experience, Ira Byock believes death is an opportunity for growth, both for the living and the dying. The book contains an extensive, helpful list of resources.
Ira Byock is president of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
From Dying Well:
--Dying Well is a book about living. It is a book about realizing the human potential to grow--as individuals and as members of families--through the process of dying. Being with people who are dying in conscious and caring ways is of value to them and to us. Their reminiscences, our care, and the time we spend together all contribute to a legacy that enriches our lives."
--“As a physician, being present as someone is dying tears the boundaries between the personal and professional realms of my being.”
--“For me, meditation is the quintessential practice in achieving comfort with chaos. Some days there is nothing so chaotic as sitting quietly and watching my mind—not following a particular train of thought or achieving any tangible goal, just watching and staying open.”
