Living with Death and Dying [Paperback]

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 9, 1997

In this compassionate and moving guide to communicating with the terminally ill, Dr. Elisabeth Küebler-Ross, the world's foremost expert on death and dying, shares her tools for understanding how the dying convey their innermost knowledge and needs. Expanding on the workshops that have made her famous and loved around the world, she shows us the importance of meaningful dialogue in helping patients to die with peace and dignity.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Time Her work has vanquished the conspiracy of silence that once shrouded the hospital's terminal wards....In so doing, it has shown how, and with what quiet grace, the human spirit composes itself for extinction.

About the Author

Elisabeth KÜbler-Ross, M.D. (July 8, 1926 – August 24, 2004) was a Swiss-born psychiatrist, humanitarian and co-founder of the hospice movement around the world.  She was also the author of the groundbreaking book On Death and Dying (1969), which first discussed The Five Stages of Grief. Elisabeth authored 24 books in 36 languages and brought comfort to millions of people coping with their own deaths or the death of a loved one. Elisabeth's passions included working with terminally ill children, AIDS patients, and the elderly, amongst others. Her greatest professional legacy includes teaching the practice of humane care for the dying and the importance of sharing unconditional love.  

 

Elisabeth is a 2007 inductee into the National Women’s Hall of Fame and Time Magazine named her one of the 100 greatest thinkers of the 20th century. Her work continues by the efforts of hundreds of organizations around the world including, The Elisabeth KÜbler-Ross Foundation: www.EKRFoundation.org

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Scribner (June 9, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684839369
• ISBN-13: 978-0684839363
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #727,563 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very helpful and inciteful book., September 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Living with Death and Dying (Paperback)

I read this book back in 1973, that is . the first publication of her clinical study. It was wonderful for me to be given a clear and inciteful understanding of the people around the loved one dying, let alone understanding the probable emotions of the person dying. As a caregiver, a term not used back then, I had no knowledge of the stages people go through in the event of a terminal disease. These "stages" were extremly helpful to me in understanding my own emotions and in caring for the sick one. This book was a God send for me.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars contains everything you need to know about death & dying, November 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Living with Death and Dying (Paperback)

This is another one of Dr. Kubler-Ross' sensitive books on death and dying. Her informed and emphathic approach to the topic should be read by everyone since death and dying are universal. You learn about the functioning of the human mind, the unique aspects of our existence, and will emerge from the experience enriched and with fewer anxieties about your own life.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very insightful and sympathetic written work that explores humanity and humanism by way of living with death and dying., September 4, 2005

By 

Christian Engler (Woburn, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Living with Death and Dying (Paperback)

The data and writings of Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross are really perceptive and affecting, because they show the living what can be possible versus what just is, as well as how life can and should be lived: to the fullest and most meaningful way possible. And with all Kubler-Ross's previous books, Living with Death and Dying is no exception. In this, her fifth book, she looks at the progression of palliative care by way of parent-pediatric involvement (see Section III, Parent Care: Total Involvement in the Care of a Dying Child). In it, a mother movingly recounts the dying of her daughter with leukemia and all the stresses that were attached to the situation. But what mitigated the sadness of the inevitable was the direct involvement of the parents in the care of their daughter to the bitter end. And where a loss of this magnitude can often cause separartion and ulitmately divorce, the unified confrontation by the husband and wife and the other healthy child (in this particular case), actually solidified the nucleus of the family; the bond became tighter and unbreakable, which was very nice to know. But though the loss was understandably painful, it was also a gift, for it brought about a heightened acuteness of love and living, not just through words but by actions and the uncommon stepping outside of the 'comfort' zone of their day-to-day reality. Also interesting was the in-depth exploration of drawing-analysis of the soma (the body) and the psyche (the soul) in regards to terminally-ill patients and those deeply psychologically wounded (read Section II, The Use of Drawings Made at Significant Times in One's Life). It is a great illustration of nonverbal communication and truly eye-opening when you explore the 'hidden' messages that are not as concealed as one might think. Because of the merciful candidness, courage and knowledge of patients, families, clergy and medical staff, like Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, among others, they have mentally brought readers to the brink of death by their own experiences and observations. Through death and dying, they have taught that openness and candor are imperative and that compassion and goodness does not have to begin when death and dying enters the scene.