This work follows a doctor who works in a nursing home for the terminally ill in Holland. Various patients' stories are interspersed with philosophical discussions between three doctors, Jaarsma, Anton and Van Gooyer, about their profession, truth, despair and faith. The book also examines a range of other topics such as the history of medicine, the placebo-effect, the meagre scientific content of medical practice, the oddness of the verb "to die", the failure of cancer research and the way in which our minds are anchored to our brains. Euthanasia is a recurrent theme, and detailed accounts of several cases are included.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
Keizer, a physician in a nursing home in Holland, where euthanasia has been legal for 20 years, recounts here his experiences with the terminally ill. A philosopher as well as a physician, he focuses on suffering, love, fear, and the other emotions that accompany dying. Many of his insightful observations concern the reactions of the physician called on to assist in a suicide, who is largely ignored in many existing sources (some of which are listed in "Words of Comfort: Resources for the Living and Dying" LJ 8/96). A thought-provoking account that will move and enlighten any adult reader, particularly the healthcare provider, Keizer's work adds a new perspective to discussions about a major divisive issue in healthcare today. Readers should also consult such works as Herbert Hendin's Seduced by Death: Doctors, Patients, and the Dutch Cure (LJ 11/1/96) for an evaluation of the practice and for a bibliography.?Margaret Norden, Marymount Univ. Lib., Arlington, Va.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
Keizer, a physician at a Dutch nursing home, is responsible for arranging humane deaths for patients who seriously request them. He is on a nursing-home rather than a hospital staff because so many hospital physicians, he says, regard a patient's death as an insult. Most of his book--a Dutch best-seller--relates anecdotes about patients, especially those requesting assisted deaths. Keizer has put much more into this sympathetic, well-argued (mostly by means of examples), often surprisingly humorous book. He has us get to know each patient he discusses, and we learn much about his own disbelief in organized religion, his philosophy of life, and his deep caring for his patients and their families--a depth reflected in the way the stress involved in selecting patients for euthanasia causes Keizer periodic anxiety and troubling dreams. The euthanasia he practices is the quiet termination of lives that have become unbearable for any of a broad range of reasons: one patient asks, "How much will I have to give up, how much will be robbed from me, before I have finally reached the bottom?" William Beatty
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fab book,
This review is from: Dancing with Mr. D. (Hardcover)
This book is great and certainly not just for medical boffins. I almost felt guilty for being so entertained - almost. Quite literally couldn't put it down. What a great writer - I want him to do more and more and more please!
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unique Insight,
By Desirée (Sapphire Beach, Australia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Dancing with Mr. D. (Hardcover)
Bert Keizer has written this wonderfully reflective book for those of us who may not have the privilege of spending time in intimate contact with people aware that they are near the end of their life. I found it thouroughly enjoyable and truly inspiring. If you have any interest in medicine, euthanasia, bioethics or what it is to be mortal I warmly recommend that you read it. Congratulations Dr.Keizer.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Couldn't put it down!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Dancing with Mr. D. (Hardcover)
This sardonic look at death and dying and the
medical establishment by a Dutch M.D. who works
in a nursing home is the best book I've read
all summer. Very entertaining, funny, thought
provoking and poignant. He talks about his
feelings in helping terminally ill patients
take their own lives. This doctor majored
in philosophy as an undergraduate and ponders
life's big questions in this slender volume.
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