The Good Death

An Exploration of Dying in America

De: Ann Neumann

Narrado por: Suzanne Toren

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 words, 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.

©2016 Ann Neumann (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Fascinating and Insightful

I really enjoyed this book. I lost my mother to pancreatic cancer when she was 54. This book is a must read — considering your own death, and really makes you consider what “a good death” means to you.

great book

a must-read for anyone interested in or actively participating in the death positive movement. beautifully written and wonderfully read. informative.

Should Be Titled "Busted Social Systems"

This book was okay. I think it is somewhat mistitled, as it ranges more widely than just death. It's also about the well-intentioned nightmare of the medical system, the horrors of the prison system, and the controversies over disability.

A Learning Experience

This story opened up my eyes to dying. I don't have to worry about anyone fighting for my life. I know there's no guarantee I won't end up at a Catholic hospital. But, it's amazing how people play God. What's the sense in writing out what you want or how your should end without people staying in their own lane? This is a good read or audible. I learned a lot about death and hospice.

Wonderful Book!

This is such an excellent book. It is easy to listen to and extremely eye opening.