Customer Reviews

Facing Death: Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

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When people were whispering the "D" world, Kubler-Ross was studying, exploring and writing about it. She became world famous for her work with terminally ill patients and her landmark 1969 book On Death an Dying, which detailed the five stages of death and dying. She lectured and gave countless workshops, even establishing a healing center in Virginia which was destroyed by arsonists in 1994. After suffering a series of strokes, she lived in seclusion outside Phoenix; it was during this time, when she awaited her own death, that this documentary was made. The film's strength is steeped in its unflinching honesty; her admirers are here as well as her detractors, her successes as well as her failures. Conversations with Kubler-Ross are at its core as she looks back on her life . . . and impending death.

As a world leader and pioneer her loving and caring message was one that emphasized death as part of life. She urged those that would listen to her to practice a life of love and service. The single, best essential perspective that gives someone a way of getting the most from EKR's ideas, her life's work,and this film, is from her book

Death: The Final Stage of Growth.

In particular the last chapter, Omega. It is only three pages long but contains the rich and meaningful essence of all she learned from her work in death and dying. It ends with this paragraph:
In order to be at peace, it is necessary to feel a sense of history-that you are both a part of what has come before and part of what is yet to come. Being thus surrounded, you are not alone; and the sense of urgency that pervades the present is put in perspective: Do not frivolously use the time that is yours to spend. Cherish it, that each day may bring new growth, insight, and awareness. Use this growth not selfishly, but rather in service of what may be, in the future tide of time. Let each day be a stone in the path of growth. Do not rest until what was intended has been done. But remember-go as slowly as is necessary in order to sustain a steady pace; Do not expend energy in waste. Finally, do not allow the illusory urgencies of the immediate to distract you from your vision of the eternal.

This documentary about Elisabeth Kuebler-Ross, her life and her work with the dying is very well made, not macabre or scary in any way.

In the film we learn more of Elisabeth's childhood and adult life, as well as her long career. And the overwhelming impression is that Kuebler-Ross was one determined woman with great compassion. She dedicated her life to helping terminally ill people as well as educating the general public about the dying process. She defined the 5 stages of dying and would let nothing get in the way of her life's mission.

The film was especially valuable to see in the context of Elisabeth's own impending death. I found it very interesting to hear what insights she had gained during her lifetime.

It is a must-see for anyone working with terminally ill patients as well as any non-medical person. Death is a part of all our lives yet we understand, so little about it. In order to diminish the fear we all have about it, we need to learn more about the whole process.

It's worth watching. However it's more of a biography than a summary of her research and teachings. Also many of the people interviewed speak German and I struggled with the subtitles at times.

I was a little disappointed in this film, because it is a biography of Kubler-Ross and doesn't deal much with her groundbreaking theories. If you are interested in the woman, however, rather than the dying process, this is a GREAT film.