With the End in Mind: Dying, Death and Wisdom in an Age of Denial

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But so often, dying people and their families remain unprepared because our fear about death has become a fear about even mentioning dying. There are lots of moving stories in here, extremely well written - and I'm sure that this doctor has done a lot of good things. I think that the practical elements, particularly the reflection points, would make good conversation starters, even with yourself, if death looms large in your consciousness for any reason.

When John Keats was dying of TB in Rome, just 25 and far from family and home, he wrote a series of beautifully judged, empathetic letters of farewell that deal lightly (yet never falsely) with his physical suffering and his emotional anguish. It’s written with such warmth, compassion, and integrity, and it contains just the right amount of humour. Many of us won’t read a book like this because we don’t want to look at death, think about death, speak about death, let alone read about Mr Grim and his rusty scythe. I found it a great comfort and now feel better equipped to talk about death, and to consider what's important in my life. Even though it is one thing common to all life, it has reached the point where it is seen now as a taboo, something that we deliberately choose to ignore or rarely talk about when pushed.She has a particular interest in combining CBT with palliative care to help the dying approach their remaining time with realism rather than pessimism.

Dying as a performance, dying as an art and a practice, dying as something solemnly profound and sorrowful and at the same time as normal, natural; dying as physical and as spiritual; dying as the end of a whole world because, as Oliver Sacks wrote, when dying himself: “There is no one like anyone else, ever. In With the End in Mind , she shares beautifully crafted stories from a lifetime of caring for the dying, and makes a case for the therapeutic power of approaching death not with trepidation, but with openness, clarity, and understanding.we are privileged to accompany people through moments of enormous meaning and power; moments to be remembered and retold as family legends and, if we get the care right, to reassure and encourage future generations as they face these great events themselves. Doctors in The Netherlands (and in Belgium) do not see euthanasia as a default or standard procedure, but as a last resort. This book is not going to be for everyone given the subject matter, but it is a step in the right direction to seeing death as an intrinsic part of life and coping with it in the best way for you. I like her approach to her patients and families, and wish she could be my doctor when the time comes.

Dying is made special in this book because it is given back its precious highly emotionally charged as well as matter of fact place in life. With a tsunami of death coming soon as the baby-boomers die, there really wont be enough staff trained in this particular way. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to everyone, as it features something we all have in common. The final of these inevitable events will happen to every single person on this planet at some point in the future. To be fair, it is stated somewhere in the book that it's not so much about dying as choosing what kinds of times we have while we're alive.It’s based around relatable stories of the patients Mannix met in her decades working in the fields of cancer treatment and hospice care. I think this book is as much about how to interact with people who are facing death as it is about the different ways people face their own death. It’s not a number – it’s a direction of travel, a movement over time, a tiptoe journey towards a tipping point. I have also shared it with friends who have family needing end-of-life care - knowing the trajectory of the journey stopped it being the unknown.

Beautifully written, filled with compassion and understanding, along with a practical and kind approach to facing death. There are not enough hospice / palliative care staff to help with deaths now (the focus is still on cancer). Open these pages and you will find stories about people who are like you, and like people you know and love.One person’s good death is not another’s – we all need to find our own way to take our bow and leave the stage. Nevertheless I readily commend this book as an extremely helpful aid to patients and carers and even acquaintances of those who are dying.