Talking About Death Won't Kill You

With its wise and very compelling argument that we should face death before it faces us, Talking About Death Won't Kill You addresses cultural, personal, medical, and legal concerns to find a way for us-as individuals, and as a society-to prepare for a good death, a death where the dying are in control and not, as is too often the case, caught in a downward spiral of medical intervention and misunderstood intentions. It is an argument for facing fears. An argument for taking the thought of our death out of the shadows of denial and preparing, with our loved ones, the living wills, medical directives, value history forms, and even simple letters that will explain what it truly is we want when the time comes. It is an argument for honest diagnosis, for hospice care, for creating rituals, for finding love and comfort at the end instead of false hope and forbidding technology. With its skillful interweaving of personal stories and practical matters, scientific fact and spiritual sensitivity, Talking About Death Won't Kill You is a powerful book about how we can achieve a greater sense of peace in dying, and so rediscover the art of living.

Virginia Morris lectures on the topic of aging parents around the country and has been featured on a host of national media. She testified about eldercare issues before the U.S. Joint Economic Committee and is also the author of Talking About Death. Ms. Morris lives with her husband and two children in Sag Harbor, New York.