It may seem strange at this present time to be encouraging you to read a book about death and dying when death and grief seem to be all around us. In fact when my colleague Jackie Dawson gave me this book and said read this I did think I don’t think mentally I can read this book right now. But I am so glad I did, it has been inspirational, comforting and practice changing. It has also made me so proud to be a Lung Cancer Nurse, we are invited into our patient’s lives at a time when they are most vulnerable and given the opportunity to support and care for them.
In this book Dr Mannix reflects on case histories of patients she has cared for from her days as Junior Palliative Care Doctor to the expert in the field of Palliative Care that she is today. After each section Dr Mannix addresses the reader to encourage them to reflect on what their thoughts and learning has been. The best way I found to read this book is to read one section at a time and then put it down and just think about what you have read. Dr Mannix does not shy away from dealing with topics such as euthanasia and the death of a young person and brings these topics in a more human perspective. There is also a really good section on talking about the dying process with a patient and what death looks like.
After reading this book I have had some amazing conversations with relatives about the impact of Covid19 on the practices of dying and how this has impacted on their experience of death and bereavement. I think I was able to bring more to these conversations due to this book and would definitely recommend it as a very worthwhile read. In fact I would say it has been the best book I have read so far this year.