“When I look at the young people dying…I can see. I say, ‘God is love,’ and I mean it now. It isn’t words, I really mean it” –p. 70
TITLE: On Death and Dying: What the Dying Have to Teach Doctors, Nurses, Clergy and Their Own Families, by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, M.D.
DETAILS: In 2016, it’s hard to imagine that no one ever thought to ask those with terminal illnesses what they needed the most. Thus, what seems like the most common sense compassion is treated in this book like the new idea that it was at the time of publication. The book treats exactly what it says in the subtitle: those who are terminally ill discuss in depth what is missing from their hospitalization and their treatment programs. Plus, it is here that Kubler-Ross reveals the five stages of grieving for the first time.
WHAT I LIKED ABOUT IT: I can readily understand why an individual’s first reaction to a book with such a title might be that there is very little to like about such a book. I must respectfully disagree. Death is the one factor common to virtually everyone, and there is much to be learned from the five stages of grieving, as well as the transcripts of conversations with those for whom death is imminent. I have often wondered what I would say to a person who was terminally ill. Now I know: foremost, I would listen to them, and talk about whatever they wanted to talk about.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE ABOUT IT: The writing style is plainly dated. Plus, the content is greatly discomfiting. This is not an easy read.
DETAILS: On Death and Dying was originally published in 1969. My copy was published by Simon and Schuster in 2014, with a new forward by Ira Byock, M. D. The book lasts for 262 pages, followed by a bibliography and a reader’s guide; it cost $16.00, and was available at Books a Million in the Muncie mall.