The End
The Human Experience Of Death
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
A fascinating exploration of the universal human experience of death.
We sat around and on the bed, laughing and joking as if this was a typical family gathering. The shrunken form of our dying grandmother lay on the bed, breathing fast and shallow, her once-bright eyes half closed and sunken in their sockets. To some it might have seemed disrespectful to be treating her as part of the furniture as she took what were her very last breaths on this earth. But to us, it seemed almost normal that we should carry on being her boisterous, jovial grandchildren, filling her ears with the sounds of normality as she slipped away.
Looking back on that experience, Bianca Nogrady realised she had so many questions. Was her grandmother in pain? Could she hear them? Did she know they were there? Was she aware of what was happening to her? What was she experiencing as the spark of life that had sustained her for 87 years finally flickered out?
We know so much about birth - generations of women have shared their experiences with their sisters, daughters and grand-daughters, medicine has exhaustively explored and documented every possible angle of birth, and it is a joyous moment that is shared with friends and family.
But at the other end of a life, death is hidden, taboo, mysterious, fearful, rarely shared and often a lonely, dark book-end. Death will come to all of us - it is one of few experiences that unites every single being on the planet. But we don’t talk about it, we try not to think about it and anyone who breaks these unspoken taboos is viewed as being unnecessarily morbid. Yet many who have been present at the death of a loved one talk of it as being a gift, they have taken part in a profound moment.
The End is an exploration of that experience, exploring the human experience of death from every angle - the spiritual, the historical, the physical, the metaphysical; from the perspective of those who have witnessed it, those who face it, and those who have somehow stepped back from it.
The End investigates an experience common to every single one of us and does so in a way that is engaging, compelling, a bit funny and a bit quirky in places, heartbreaking in others, but most of all fascinating.
The End provides a different framework through which to view death instead of the fear and mystery that so often shrouds this incredibly important moment of life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Through engaging, heartfelt anecdotes, Australian journalist Nogrady (The Sixth Wave) researched what it might be like to die from those who have experienced it and those who have observed the experience intimately, such as caretakers. Moved by the "good" death of her grandmother Nan, comfortable and surrounded by family at her nursing home, Nogrady approached experts for explanations of the why and how of death: along the way she lists what illnesses are the top killers around the world and sifts through the contrasting definitions of death (does it occur when the heart fails, the breathing ceases, or the brain stops functioning?). From the science of the dying body Nogrady moves to "experiencing death," such as near-death journeys, and while her evidence is more like hearsay, it is still valuable and fascinating. Throughout, Nogrady discusses what it's like to help a dying person find a safe place and suitable time, and what observers should expect (skin sensitivity, dementia, letting go). She has produced a brave, clear-eyed work and is not afraid to join science with spirituality.