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The Woman Who Decided to Die: Challenges and Choices at the Edges of Medicine 1st Edition
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- ISBN-10019533101X
- ISBN-13978-0195331011
- Edition1st
- PublisherOxford University Press
- Publication dateMarch 27, 2009
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions9.29 x 1.04 x 6.46 inches
- Print length224 pages
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- Publisher : Oxford University Press; 1st edition (March 27, 2009)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 224 pages
- ISBN-10 : 019533101X
- ISBN-13 : 978-0195331011
- Item Weight : 1.08 pounds
- Dimensions : 9.29 x 1.04 x 6.46 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #4,168,395 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #603 in Medical Ethics (Books)
- #2,839 in Death
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Customers find the book has a profound depth and compelling stories. They consider it one of the most pertinent books they've read recently, and a great reminder that science and medicine have limitations. Readers say it's worth buying and a good book.
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Customers find the book's depth compelling and relevant. They describe the stories as humane and a great reminder that science and medicine can do much more than they can imagine.
"...But I digress... This is a great book. It's a great reminder that as much as Science and Medicine can do, the question always remains: should we?..." Read more
"...and unprejudiced approach; the cases depicted in the stories are very compelling for a humane point-view and they certainly put things into a whole..." Read more
"...Writted for the layman yet with a profound depth." Read more
Customers find the book good and worth buying.
"...But I digress... This is a great book. It's a great reminder that as much as Science and Medicine can do, the question always remains: should we?..." Read more
"...It's certainly worth buying: I left the first book I bought in a flight to Canada and I just bought another one." Read more
"Good book" Read more
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2013I'm continuing my lunch-time reading on my iPhone's Kindle app with the book The Woman Who Decided to Die: Challenges and Choices at the Edges of Medicine by Ronald Munson. I'll start the review with what I loved about the book and then end with... well, you'll see.
As the title suggests, these are a series of essays discussing wide-ranging subjects in Medical Ethics. Each chapter covers one medical dilemma with a complete discussion of the ethics of the decision whether it is euthanasia or should patients be presented with unproven medical treatment protocols.
While the topics and subsequent examinations are thought provoking, they are approachable due to Dr Munson's ability to take these complex subjects and distill them to its essence without losing the gravity of the discussion. This isn't the type of book that my good friend (and fellow medical history/book nerd) Dr Dave Klingman would necessarily enjoy (he prefers his medical history to be less `heady') but I really enjoyed the moral discussions.
Medical Ethics is one of those subjects that really interest me even though what's right or what's wrong today may not necessarily hold true in the future. Ethics can mold itself to whatever society deems required at a particular point and time. Given how much I detested philosophy in College, I surprised myself by really getting into the ideas presented in the book given that I prefer much more concrete discussions.
But I digress... This is a great book. It's a great reminder that as much as Science and Medicine can do, the question always remains: should we? Can we? As long as we ask these questions, Medical Ethics will remain an important part of Medicine.
Now for the rest of the story.
As I mentioned above, I read this on my iPhone's Kindle app. Once again, the publishers have done a major disservice to the author. At least the formatting wasn't quite as bad as what I encountered by reading Treating the Brain: What the Best Doctors Know by Dr. Walter G. Bradley, but still, inexcusable.
Attention Publishers! I paid for this digital copy. I expect... nay, I demand that the digital copy look as good as the printed copy. There is no conceivable excuse for paragraphs to alternate between left and right justification; paragraphs that break into new paragraphs in the middle of sentences or any of that nonsense.
Again, there is No Excuse! I paid for this digital copy, so quit treating us e-readers like a pack of morons. Oxford University Press, you should be ashamed of yourselves.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2009I consider this one of the most pertinent books I've read lately, especially for all those - doctors and other health personnel - who have to deal with day-to-day health-related ethical issues.
Furthermore, I also recommend this book to every concerned citizen who may be called to take a stand on issues such as euthanasia or abortion.
The author manages to give us - the reader - what I consider to be a very independent and unprejudiced approach; the cases depicted in the stories are very compelling for a humane point-view and they certainly put things into a whole different perspective.
It's certainly worth buying: I left the first book I bought in a flight to Canada and I just bought another one.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2013Munson uses case studies to illustrate the gut wrenching medical decsions made every day and the conflicts that naturally arise. Writted for the layman yet with a profound depth.
- Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2015Good book
- Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2014This is a very interesting book which uses a series of narrative, patient-focused accounts to highlight ethical issues in modern medical practice. The stories are interesting and engaging, and many readers may relate to them, either from experiences with family and friends, or through their careers (if they are already in medicine), or through what they have read in the media. The issues presented do, or will, touch many of us eventually and so they are very important.
My one quibble - and admittedly it's a minor one - is with the book's title. Presumably it's a reference to the first patient presented in the book, but she didn't really "decide to die". Rather, for the sake of her family, she refused a harsh, last-ditch treatment effort that would have been unlikely to save her life anyway.
Overall, this book is highly recommended
- Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2010This book considers medical ethics which aren't as straightforward as they first appear. For instance, a double murderer (one of the victims being a child), received a heart transplant. A normal citizen, who could not afford insurance, did not. Human beings are inherently equal, yet prisoners receive health care because it is provided to them by the state. He suggests that a better determination of who receives a transplant is physical need.
The question of selling organs for transplant made me cringe. However, he considers that the donor family is the only party expected to behave altruistically. The organ recipient obviously benefits; doctors and hospitals earn money on the procedure. The donor family then sometimes must borrow money to bury their loved one. Many doctors have stopped live organ donation altogether because it seems weaker family members are coerced, even unconsciously, into donating their organs.
The author was friends with a radical psychiatrist who supported the philosophy of Thomas Szasz, who argued mental illness does not exist, but that society locks away people whose behavior makes them uncomfortable. It's an interesting philosophy.
Many women endured bone marrow therapy, described as "dramatic, expensive, grueling and risky," as treatment for advanced stage breast cancer. Some families went into financial ruin to pay for this treatment. It was based on medical opinion at the time and became standard treatment. Clinical testing later showed it to be ineffective.
I highly recommend this book. These are fairly new ethical questions, as many of the scenarios presented in this book weren't possible 50 years ago.
Top reviews from other countries
SamiahReviewed in Canada on July 3, 20154.0 out of 5 stars Written in an easy to read format
Learned a lot about basic ethical issues in medicine. Written in an easy to read format. such that you can connect with the author and the subjects. Would recommend it to anyone with interest in medical treatment. The title is a bit misleading as the book is not just about one woman or just about people dying, rather about many people in many different situations.





