At Death's Door
End of Life Stories from the Bedside
By (author) Sebastian Sepulveda, Gini Graham Scott
Publication date:
17 March 2017Length of book:
278 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersISBN-13: 9781442273344
At Death’s Door: End of Life Stories from the Bedside tells the powerful story of Sebastian Sepulveda’s experiences in working with patients at the end of their lives. In some cases, death came quickly, after the patient was first diagnosed with a terminal condition and entered the hospital. In other cases, patients had a long, progressive illness that got increasingly worse over the months or years until they were in their final days. In some cases, patients were able to fight off death for many years. Hard decisions are often made—whether to resuscitate or not, whether to choose hospice or not, who makes the decisions when a patient cannot, and whose decision to follow when several family members are involved in decision making. Written from the perspective of a medical doctor from years of experience, this personal approach to the end of life explores the many options available to patients and their families and reveals how real people have come to those decisions, and how they play out. With insight and sensitivity, Sepulveda offers families an important window into how life can end with compassion, care, control, and dignity.
At Death’s Door features over fifty stories drawn from Sepulveda’s experience as a doctor dealing with these patients and families. As states debate the legality of assisted suicide and other end of life rights, real people make real decisions every day regarding end of life. Their stories come to life in these pages, and readers with similar concerns will find relief, comfort, and company as they face these decisions themselves.
At Death’s Door features over fifty stories drawn from Sepulveda’s experience as a doctor dealing with these patients and families. As states debate the legality of assisted suicide and other end of life rights, real people make real decisions every day regarding end of life. Their stories come to life in these pages, and readers with similar concerns will find relief, comfort, and company as they face these decisions themselves.
At Death's Door is an attempt to provide scenarios that can occur when a patient is approaching the end of life. Sepulveda, a doctor with 30-plus years of experience, and Scott, a well-known writer, describe a variety of situations that involve decision making for end-of-life care, coping mechanisms that can hinder the decision-making process, and cultural issues that are often misunderstood or ignored. Each situation is an attempt to provide a realistic view for the reader. However, the recalled dialogue would be better replaced with a summary—an interpretation would provide far more insight than the choppiness of the report. Medical terms are defined throughout, which is beneficial for non-medical readers…. Thus, the book will be best suited for laypeople seeking knowledge of the pitfalls that can occur along the end-of-life road…. This book is rich in personal experiences, which afford a level of authenticity to the work—this is difficult to find. It will prove invaluable to many who are seeking information on how to navigate the uncharted waters of end-of-life care.
Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and general readers.
Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and general readers.