On Death and Dying

Through each of the various stages, one hopes for a possible cure or solution, even at the very end: “we were always impressed that even the most accepting, the most realistic patients left the possibility open for some cure, for the discovery of a new drug” (148). In the hardest days of illness and suffering, the faintest glimmer of hope gave patients a sense of meaning. For those with terminal diagnoses, it provided “a sense of a special mission in life which helps them maintain their spirits,” while for others it provided at least “a form of temporary but needed denial” (148).

When a patient seems to have given up all hope, it is often a sign that death is imminent. Outside of the patient themselves, crises in hope come in two forms: first, when loved ones and caregivers are hopeless when the patient still needs reassurance, and second, when the family can’t accept the patient’s inevitable death. As the author suggests, it would help “if more people would talk about death and dying as an intrinsic part of life just as they do not hesitate to mention when someone is expecting a new baby” (150).