Dancing with Mr. D. - Hardcover

Keizer, Bert

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385484976 ISBN 13: 9780385484978

Publisher: Nan A. Talese / Doubleday, 1997

Synopsis

As cancer rates soar, and the issue of "self-deliverance" stays in the headlines, the American pre-occupation with death and dying has never been more intense. In this remarkable new book, Bert Keizer, a Dutch doctor with training in philosophy as well as medicine, probes these concerns with understanding and insight as he shares with us his extraordinary experiences among the terminally ill.



We follow Keizer through his days at a nursing home in Holland as he listens to his patients' stories, documents their battle with disease, and witnesses their taking their own lives in order to die with dignity. All this is given counterpoint by the trio of doctors with whom Keizer works, whose outlooks range from detachment to despair to naive faith in the power of medicine. And throughout are Keizer's brilliant, often startling meditations on the nature of his work--shedding new light on such topics as the placebo effect, the oddness of the verb "to die," and, of course, euthanasia, which is legal in Holland.



A surprise bestseller in Holland, where it was praised for its humanity, scope, and emotional power, Dancing with Mr. D is an inspiring and powerful narrative that vividly frames the issues we will all confront when we make our final journey

About this title

From the Inside Flap

tes soar, and the issue of "self-deliverance" stays in the headlines, the American pre-occupation with death and dying has never been more intense. In this remarkable new book, Bert Keizer, a Dutch doctor with training in philosophy as well as medicine, probes these concerns with understanding and insight as he shares with us his extraordinary experiences among the terminally ill.<br><br><br><br>We follow Keizer through his days at a nursing home in Holland as he listens to his patients' stories, documents their battle with disease, and witnesses their taking their own lives in order to die with dignity. All this is given counterpoint by the trio of doctors with whom Keizer works, whose outlooks range from detachment to despair to naive faith in the power of medicine. And throughout are Keizer's brilliant, often startling meditations on the nature of his work--shedding new light on such topics as the placebo effect, the oddness of the verb "to die," and, of course, euth

Reviews

Idiosyncratic musings of an intellectual, humanistic Dutch physician working in a nursing home for the terminally ill, where physician-assisted suicide is accepted as a way of death. Keizer, who has a degree in philosophy from Nottingham University in England, thinks long and often about the human condition. References to Wittgenstein, Kafka, Wilde, Beckett, and Conrad pepper his text. While death is a pervasive theme, the irreverent Keizer airs his opinions freely about a variety of topics: God (doesn't exist), the practice of medicine (``that biochemical Lourdes, that inextricable amalgam of prayer, iodine, incense, fear of death, and molecules''), alternative therapies (lack a rational basis), the placebo effect (pervasive in medicine), cancer research (billions of dollars wasted), and doctors' powers over life and death (greatly overestimated). There's something here to offend, intrigue, or delight just about everyone. As for euthanasia, Keizer has two commandments: Never do it to ease the suffering of the spectators, and never do it in a hurry. Originally published as fiction in the Netherlands, these memoirs are loosely based on Keizer's diaries and letters, with changes made to protect patients' privacy. The author appears in them as Anton, a pesky gadfly who asks tough questions of his professional colleagues, talks about death with his dying patients, and frequents a nearby graveyard at lunchtime. Keizer did the English translation himself, which may account for the sometimes odd blend of conversational and formal styles. Those looking for a clear path through the euthanasia maze will not find it here; they will, however, meet a unique and curious mind, possessed by a physician with a conscience, which is always a pleasure. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Keizer, a physician at a Dutch nursing home, is responsible for arranging humane deaths for patients who seriously request them. He is on a nursing-home rather than a hospital staff because so many hospital physicians, he says, regard a patient's death as an insult. Most of his book--a Dutch best-seller--relates anecdotes about patients, especially those requesting assisted deaths. Keizer has put much more into this sympathetic, well-argued (mostly by means of examples), often surprisingly humorous book. He has us get to know each patient he discusses, and we learn much about his own disbelief in organized religion, his philosophy of life, and his deep caring for his patients and their families--a depth reflected in the way the stress involved in selecting patients for euthanasia causes Keizer periodic anxiety and troubling dreams. The euthanasia he practices is the quiet termination of lives that have become unbearable for any of a broad range of reasons: one patient asks, "How much will I have to give up, how much will be robbed from me, before I have finally reached the bottom?" William Beatty

Keizer, a physician in a nursing home in Holland, where euthanasia has been legal for 20 years, recounts here his experiences with the terminally ill. A philosopher as well as a physician, he focuses on suffering, love, fear, and the other emotions that accompany dying. Many of his insightful observations concern the reactions of the physician called on to assist in a suicide, who is largely ignored in many existing sources (some of which are listed in "Words of Comfort: Resources for the Living and Dying" LJ 8/96). A thought-provoking account that will move and enlighten any adult reader, particularly the healthcare provider, Keizer's work adds a new perspective to discussions about a major divisive issue in healthcare today. Readers should also consult such works as Herbert Hendin's Seduced by Death: Doctors, Patients, and the Dutch Cure (LJ 11/1/96) for an evaluation of the practice and for a bibliography.?Margaret Norden, Marymount Univ. Lib., Arlington, Va.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Nan A. Talese / Doubleday
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0385484976
• ISBN 13: 9780385484978
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336