Avg. Customer Rating:(based on 67 reviews) Sales Rank: 7634 Category: Book
Author:Sherwin B. Nuland Publisher:Vintage Studio:Vintage Manufacturer:Vintage Label:Vintage Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published) Media: Paperback Edition: 1 Number Of Items: 1 Pages: 304 Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5 Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.7
Product Description Attempting to demythologize the process of dying, Nuland explores how we shall die, each of us in a way that will be unique. Through particular stories of dying--of patients, and of his own family--he examines the seven most common roads to death: old age, cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's, accidents, heart disease, and strokes, revealing the facets of death's multiplicity.
"It's impossible to read How We Die without realizing how earnestly we have avoided this most unavoidable of subjects, how we have protected ourselves by building a cultural wall of myths and lies. I don't know of any writer or scientist who has shown us the face of death as clearly, honestly and compassionately as Sherwin Nuland does here."--James Gleick
Great read; very interesting and thought provoking November 8, 2008 The language is superb! Dr. Nuland writes about the scientific medical truths in such an artistic and beautiful language. I like the way he starts off a serious subject with such drama and fiction (so it seems); but then tapers it to the serious facts of life. He draws us from a fiction to nonfiction with interest and enthusiasm. He makes the facts of death so real and natural that it takes the fear of death out of us; it becomes quite acceptable.
His language really is beautiful. The way death consumes each and every one of us, whether we are healthy or sick, is so fascinatingly put. He has explained how he saw his grandmother pass away; this has shed a lot of light on the facts about death for me. The analogy with which he described the cancer cell to young unruly adolescent has a touch of humor and at the same time describes the truth about the malignant cells. It is so beautifully written. For someone who is not a doctor or someone who is more a dreamer in the fiction world, this book (which is a nonfiction-medicine) is never boring from beginning to the end. He has caught my attention from the beginning to the end. His language captivated my attention; I have never read a nonfiction book with such enthusiasm and interest before. I am able to face the facts of death more logically now. This book was an excellent read.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to accept death as a natural phenomenon and to make peace with yourself and with your loved ones at the time of death.
Comforting September 18, 2008 How We Die: Reflections on Life's Final Chapter When I found out that my 80 year old grandmother had advanced cancer and was choosing not to treat it... I found myself suddenly afraid for her because I was uncomfortable with the fact that I didn't know what would happen to her at the end. I didn't know anyone with cancer who chose not to remove it or treat it with chemo.
I bought this book because it gave me exactly what I wanted to know and didn't try to beat around the bush about the bodily processes that happen when we die.
At first I was only interested in finding out about cancer, but I found myself reading the book from cover to cover.
It is so wonderful to find someone who is willing to give the facts on this subject! It gave me great comfort because I knew what was coming and didn't have to fear the unknown... When my grandmother's disease progressed, I was ready. She passed on 09/02/2008.
To the wastebin! June 15, 2008 1 out of 14 found this review helpful
Prepare yourself for a collection of voyeuristic anecdotal accounts of the dying experience. This book is void of any commendable consequence. I could not even offer it as a donation to a charitable organization. The book has been discreetly relegated to the trash bin beneath the putrifying garbage. There it will remain until next Tuesday, trash pickup day.
Facing the end of life April 28, 2008 Technical informations, personal experiences, history and philosophy put the reader face to face with the end of life aspects. Informations that will help take decisions when death is near. The magnifying glass over physiology let the reader think about many others aspects of life.
For Physicians and Patients Alike... February 22, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I believe this is a must read book for doctors and patients alike. While not cozy and comforting, it presents the facts in a wholly acceptable and honest manner.
I read this after both of my parents passed away from cancer 10 months apart in an attempt to make some sense of what they endured both mentally and medically. This book provided the answers and a great measure of righteous anger at the attending physicians and their attitudes that somehow they could cure the uncureable right up until the very last moment, depriving everyone of the necessary time to say the things that needed to be said.
This book will tell you that you, as the patient, must seek the truth about your illness as it isn't always handed to you by your physician. For the physician, it teaches how to tell the truth without destroying the time left to terminal patients.
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