To Live Until We Say Good Bye [Paperback]

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 9, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0684839482 | ISBN-13: 978-0684839486

Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, whose books on death and dying have sold in the millions, now offers an extraordinary visual record of her work. Through the brilliant photographs of Mal Warshaw, "To Live Until We Say Good-Bye" gives a gripping, intimate view of Dr. Kubler-Ross's counseling work with terminally ill patients as she brings them to an acceptance of death.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Los Angeles Times Something in the stories of Beth, Jamie, Louise, and Jack, coupled with sensitive yet riveting images of Mal Warshaw, makes To Live Until We Say Good-Bye approach inspiration. -- Review

About the Author

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, M.D., is a medical doctor, psychiatrist, and internationally renowned thanatologist. Her books include The Wheel of Life, the classic On Death and Dying, AIDS, and Questions and Answers on Death and Dying.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Scribner (June 9, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684839482
• ISBN-13: 978-0684839486
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.3 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #655,205 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross earned a place as the best-loved and most-respected authority on the subjects of death and dying. Through her many books, as well as her years working with terminally ill children, AIDS patients, and the elderly, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross brought comfort and understanding to millions coping with their own deaths or the death of a loved one. Dr. Kubler-Ross, whose books have been translated into twenty-seven languages, passed away in 2004 at the age of seventy-eight. Before her death, she and David Kessler completed work on their second collaboration, On Grief and Grieving.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Living with Dying, March 4, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: To Live Until We Say Goodbye-paperback (Paperback)

Reading a book about confrontations with death and dying by the terminal ill and by their families and loved ones may not sound like anyone's idea of "escapist fare" or a good rainy day pick-me-up, but this large picture book is first and foremost about the value of life and living. Undoubtedly one of the most "important" books I have read, To Live Until We Say Good-Bye spotlights three personal stories: a New York City poet and model dying of cancer, a young girl suffering with a brain tumor, and an older woman who refuses treatment of her illness to lead the remainder of her life in her own home. The stories are remarkable because there is a touching sense of revelation to each--that none of them had perhaps lived so fully and completely until they learned time was running out. The young girl's story, "Jamie," is especially moving because it not only deals with her concerns and fears about her future, but also those of her single mother and her young brother--and, ultimately, although the process of losing a loved one is unimaginably painful, the family is able to find some peace in their ability to make the final days meaningful--and full of life. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross narrates the stories, and Mal Warshaw provides the photographs; together, they have assembled an unpretentious and dignified lesson about seeking the value in life--surely, a message that is beneficial to and yet overlooked very often by us all

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An exceptionally moving work that showcases true courage, love, grace and hope for all, a real gift., October 23, 2005

By 

Christian Engler (Woburn, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: To Live Until We Say Good Bye (Paperback)

The book, To Live Until We Say Good-Bye, is not your common book on dying and grief or even the medical psychology of it, as is quite internationally acknowledged with many of Kubler-Ross's previous works, i.e. On Death and Dying and On Children and Death, et cetera. Rather, out of all of her works (Kubler-Ross), I would have to say that this one is the most accessible and the most outright, in-your-face emotional, the one that really tugs at the heartstrings. But it is a work that does so in a positive, open and meaningful way. Medical and psychiatric jargon is totally set aside and the four dying patients-for whom this book is about-Beth, Jamie, Louise and Jack, are allowed to come to the forefront, to have their stories and experiences related to those (the readers) who are living or could possible be dying themselves. Accompanied by the well written text of Elizabeth Kubler-Ross and the varied contributors are the affecting black and white photographs by Mal Warshaw, photos taken of the very subjects in their assorted states in the dying process. Nothing is held back in respects to the people who are profiled-the good, the bad and the ugly-yet dignity unequivocally pervades. In this book, we meet a former model (Beth), who to the very end, clung to her physical beauty as her paramount asset. However, her written poetry illustrated her articulate and intelligent substance that went way beyond looks: "Voices whispering, Beth, Beth/You can no longer stay/Hand reaching out to grasp/Helping me on my way./I'll no longer ache with sorrow/No longer feel this pain/So adieu and fare thee well now/I shan't see thee again. (P. 37). Also, we meet 71-year-old Jack, a former construction worker and rebounding alcoholic who sadly, lived to see his son die of lung cancer. But he found redemption and purpose by building doll houses for charity while as a patient at St. Rose's Home, run by the Hawthorne Dominicans in New york City. Through the series of photographs, his religious and psychological evolution becomes clearly evident, and it is a humbling and beautiful thing to see. And it is so for all those profiled, especially for Jamie and Louise, the other two patients who become are teachers. And their chapters are equally moving and powerful, if not more so. There too is an in-depth chapter on the fantastic work done by hospice and the heroics of everyday volunteers, people young and old who do not give "all" of themselves in order to give the best of themselves. All in all, To Live Until We Say Good-Bye is another great work that looks at life's final journey.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kubler Rosss Second Best Hit, June 3, 2005

By 

D. Becker (Albrightsville,PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: To Live Until We Say Good Bye (Paperback)

Kubler Ross- got this book right. The many telling photographs intermixed with very personal accounts of the dying and their family and friends makes for a moving and compelling journey into the emotions, experiences, challenges, disappointments of the dying.

The right balance between peronsal narratives, the authors commentary and photographs was achieved in this book- a feat most books on death and dying do not. Couple this book with Donald Heinzs book The Last Passage and as a friend, relative or caretaker of the dying youll have insight and knowledge into the world of the dying and some insights on what to do when someone you care about is dying.