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The Good Death
The Good Death: An Exploration of Dying in America | Ann Neumann
3 posts | 5 read | 25 to read
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 pages, 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.From the Hardcover edition.
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Ephemera
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This book was written by a woman whose father died a bad death. It wasn‘t peaceful or dignified and it was not the way her father wished to go. After this happened, the author decided to look into the way Americans deal with death. She became a hospice volunteer, but she also did a lot of research on aspects of our health system, the Death With Dignity laws, extreme measures after brain death and so on. A very good book.

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BookishFeminist
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Sociological exploration of how we treat dying, examining topics like aid in dying/assisted suicide laws, hospice care, hospitals, aging, disability rights/ableism, religion, & prison healthcare/hunger strikes. Very enlightening & informative. Neumann has a personal, in depth approach to each issue. #ReadWomen

OffTheBeatenShelf.com Interesting! You might also like Being Mortal by Atul Gawande. I haven't read it yet, but it's on my shelf and they sound similar. 8y
BookishFeminist @OffTheBeatenShelf.com Yes! It's on my reading list. I love all Atul Gawande's journalism pieces so I'm sure I'll love it. I read Smoke Gets in Your Eyes last year and that hits a lot of the same notes & I highly recommend if you're interested in the topic, too. 8y
Seonjoon It's a much heftier read, but The Hour of our Death by Philip Ariès is an interesting look at death in Western culture, one that sets up the work of books like this... 8y
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BookishFeminist @Seonjoon Thanks for the rec! Definitely don't mind heftier reads so I'll have to check that out! 8y
Notafraidofwords How in depth does he go regarding AIDS? 8y
BookishFeminist @Ryanira9 I don't recall her discussing it hardly at all- she doesn't focus on physical ailments & diseases. It's more about the healthcare system, laws, and culture of aging/dying, regardless of cause. 8y
Notafraidofwords Okay thank you ! 8y
jessdean I'm a hospice nurse, sounds like it would be an interesting read for me. Adding to my TBR. 8y
BookishFeminist @jessdean I think it would be, she focuses a lot on hospice care bc she volunteers for one. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts if/when you pick it up! 8y
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BibliophileBytheSea
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After her father's death from non- Hodgkin's lymphoma the author examines his death and death in the American culture. Well researched. "A good death is whatever the patient wants --no such thing as a perfect death as humans aren't perfect."

RunningnReading Such a great read!!! As a hospital chaplain, I love that this is a topic people are beginning to talk/think about. 8y
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