PREFACE: Death is the proverbial 900-pound gorilla in all of our lives. We generally prefer not to think or talk about it, which isn't a problem-except when death visits us. To what used to be a natural or, at least, a minimally manipu-lable event, contemporary medical science has added a variety of life-extending options, many of which cause prolonged oblivion, pain, family disruption, and expense. In response to the advent of life-extending technologies, instruments known generically as an "advance directive" (or "living will") have been developed, allowing us to express our wishes about our deaths, including the rigor of interventions and who should make decisions if we cannot. Despite the presence of such documents, three observers from the front lines of terminal illness report that all is not well. First, physician Victoria Sweet tacMes the issue with a set of "terminal" vignettes-some of which prove less than terminal-and describes how she has framed ha own advance directive. Then David Mullet; who is part of a visiting doctors program, describes how even the best of patient-doctor relationships can go wrong in the face of death. Finally, sociologist Margaret Nelson reflects on her difficult role as the proxy for a dying friend and what the process requires of all of us.
展开▼
