How We Die

Reflections on Life's Final Chapter, New Edition (National Book Award Winner)

By: Sherwin B. Nuland

Narrated by: Sherwin B. Nuland

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The definitive resource on perhaps the single most universal human concern: death.

Even more relevant than when it was first published, this edition addresses contemporary issues in end-of-life care and includes an all-embracing and incisive afterword that examines the state of health care and our relationship with life as it approaches its terminus. How We Die also discusses how we can take control of our own final days and those of our loved ones.

"Nuland's work acknowledges, with unmatched clarity, the harsh realities of how life departs… There is compassion, and often wisdom, in every page." —San Francisco Examiner

Critic reviews

"Eloquent and uncommonly moving… Nuland writes with unsentimental passion." —Time

"Engrossing… We are in the hands of a remarkable portraitist whose cultivated thought…. quietly and informatively instructs and advises us on a subject of universal concern." —The New York Times Book Review

"Nuland's work acknowledges, with unmatched clarity, the harsh realities of how life departs… There is compassion, and often wisdom, in every page." —San Francisco Examiner

"Nuland combines the clinical eye of a physician with… emotional and philosophical reflectiveness." —Newsday

How We Die

I first read Sherwin Nuland's book after my mother died. I flipped through it again when my father died. Now I have listened to How We Die without emotions influencing my read. It is very good in telling you how systems fail and what that leads to.. Mr. Nuland is not out to frighten anyone but just to explain why things go wrong in the body and what those things lead to. Highly recommend it.

LOved it!

Where does How We Die rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This book leaves me feeling good about my own mortality....Like all things in nature, we are part of the cycle of life.

What did you like best about this story?

The author's authenticity

Which scene was your favorite?

When his brother was diagnosed with cancer

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes!

Any additional comments?

I wish this wasn't abridged...would love to hear the entire book

Perfect

Love it, very accurate explanation on dying process, narrator is great, will highly recommend to all my family and friends, as a health care worker having this book can help patient's families.

Good Account of the Facts

The author tells the story of death through case studies. The first two case studies deal with sudden death by myocardial infarction (heart attack) - one resulting in death, the other saved by CPR. There is a no sugar coating of the facts, just a very careful and illustrative accounting. My first two takeaways were improve my eating habits and to teach my kids CPR so that I may survive my "golden hour" if I have a heart attack. The author then dispels the "died of old age" myth and describes the the telltale, small signs of decline in aging. I think the factual approach is refreshing. I was unprepared for death of my father that died similar to his grandmother. I was unprepared for the death of my father-in-law that died like his very first patient. This book not only prepares you for these realities but also offers a cautionary signs to help you avoid an early end. This book is not the subject of the teen set perhaps. But anyone with parents over 50 would do well to read it or just be surprised by inevitable events later.

Let's face it, we are all curious.

What did you love best about How We Die?

I appreciated Nuland's gentle yet frank description of the way in which our bodies enter into and complete their life cycles. He offers a simple, clinical explanation about a topic I want to be prepared for when my time comes as well as if I should I be present for the death of another.

What does Sherwin B. Nuland bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The fact that he is a medical doctor and has experienced death in many presentations qualifies him to speak on this matter.

Any additional comments?

Our culture so fears death that we don't prepare for it. We come to our own deaths and to those of our loved ones with such denial that we run the risk of increasing suffering rather than mediating it. I've read that American Indians greeted their deaths with a particular song. I've read that some in Africa bury the mothers of children beneath the floors of the rooms in which their children sleep in order to comfort the children. I don't know if the reports of these traditions are accurate but I believe accepting death is a healthy thing. Nuland demystifies the dying process in a way that helps take away some of my fear of it.