Customer Reviews

Loneliness of the Dying

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There are already two good -if divergent- reviews so -although the subject may be one about which we try not to think too much or often- I will only suggest reading the following books, more or less related to the matter, in addition to Elias' interesting work: a) "A Social History of Dying" by Allan Kellehear; b) "How we die" by Sherwin B. Nuland; and c) chapter 11th of "The Waning of the Middle Ages" by Johan Huizinga.

As a caregiver I found this book to be a very worthwhile read. The necessity of the human touch to counter the cold, antiseptic clinical care that is given in our "modern" health care facilities is something that our health professionals should be taught.

Thinking this book would offer some insight into the emotional challenges posed by the pre-death exit from society's radar that befalls some terminally ill patients, I was disappointed with this offering.

This is really a rambling treatise setting out Norbert Elias' sociological/anthropological theories about the history of societal acceptance of death.

I found it rather boring and there are some rather dreadful generalisations throughout the book - a couple at cringe level! There were in my view very few supportable ideas here and basically I would suggest you try other books that have been reviewed on Amazon - Stephen Levine - "Who Dies", Christine Longaker - "Facing Death and Finding Hope", Dr Rob Buckman - "I Don't Know What to Say" are all excellent and there are many more. The latter of these three is an excellent book, filled with insights and suggestions. A real gem, focussing on a personal journey through loss, is Tom Crider's "Giving Sorrow Words" - this is a very moving book, written with great compassion and honesty.