With the End in Mind: Dying, Death and Wisdom in an Age of Denial

With the End in Mind: Dying, Death and Wisdom in an Age of Denial
Kathryn Mannix

In this unprecedented book, palliative medicine pioneer Dr Kathryn Mannix explores the biggest taboo in our society and the only certainty we all share: death.A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERSHORTLISTED FOR THE WELLCOME BOOK PRIZETold through a series of beautifully crafted stories taken from nearly four decades of clinical practice, her book answers the most intimate questions about the process of dying with touching honesty and humanity. She makes a compelling case for the therapeutic power of approaching death not with trepidation but with openness, clarity and understanding.With the End in Mind is a book for us all: the grieving and bereaved, ill and healthy. Open these pages and you will find stories about people who are like you, and like people you know and love. You will meet Holly, who danced her last day away; Eric, the retired head teacher who, even with Motor Neurone Disease, gets things done; loving, tender-hearted Nelly and Joe, each living a lonely lie to save their beloved from distress; and Sylvie, 19, dying of leukaemia, sewing a cushion for her mum to hug by the fire after she has died.These are just four of the book’s thirty-odd stories of normal humans, dying normal human deaths. They show how the dying embrace living not because they are unusual or brave, but because that’s what humans do. By turns touching, tragic, at times funny and always wise, they offer us illumination, models for action, and hope. Read this book and you’ll be better prepared for life as well as death.

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Copyright (#u4977b47f-1d5d-5250-86ce-d0671939f0ba)

William Collins

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

WilliamCollinsBooks.com (http://www.williamcollinsbooks.com)

This eBook first published in Great Britain by William Collins in 2018

Copyright © Kathryn Mannix 2017

Kathryn Mannix asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780008210885

Ebook Edition © January 2018 ISBN: 9780008210892

Version: 2017-12-30

Dedication (#u4977b47f-1d5d-5250-86ce-d0671939f0ba)

In a life of stories, this book is dedicated with love to the tellers of tales:

to my parents, who gave me the words;

to my husband, who distils words into wisdom;

and to our children, whose stories are still unfolding.

Contents

Cover (#u7f42d7be-b3f1-5993-a2af-8f701788c229)

Title Page (#ub43ea0f4-7581-57f8-a577-ffa12e6661c6)

Copyright (#u73cedd08-c3e5-5597-8b85-dfd4be0cdfae)

Dedication (#u7810e2f5-c64c-5e35-89f5-b41fa0296a54)

Introduction (#u0184d87c-018f-5c6f-b542-186f4c658db4)

Reading the Label (#ud50005c3-ef48-54d5-b77b-f30d07005dc9)

Patterns (#u43dbab57-47d4-5ed4-aa21-f0802aaa6f3d)

Unpromising Beginnings (#ulink_ddbe8c3a-cc63-56bd-b3eb-f340bed08b1a)

French Resistance (#ulink_7208c273-b0fd-590c-bb5a-654644f83d86)

Tiny Dancer (#ulink_47e64293-7043-5714-af0b-9f6e1cfac713)

Wrecking Ball (#ulink_c0834416-60cd-5bc5-826e-8a974117e016)

Last Waltz (#ulink_c91a828d-171a-56f8-8683-bf5ac0b8dfd1)

Pause for Thought: Patterns (#ulink_05906a77-72f5-5ff0-ba31-366ad17743f6)

My Way (#udff931a6-55b1-50dd-8758-168572e9b560)

That is the Question … (#ulink_f505c560-6f6f-5e5f-91d2-2a019f09ab0a)

Never Let Me Go (#ulink_3060a0f3-6a5c-5a75-ad3f-275a482aee28)

Hat (#litres_trial_promo)

Take My Breath Away (#litres_trial_promo)

Pause for Thought: My Way (#litres_trial_promo)

Naming Death (#litres_trial_promo)

Second-Hand News (#litres_trial_promo)

Slipping Through My Fingers (#litres_trial_promo)

Talking About the Unmentionable (#litres_trial_promo)

The Sound of Silence (#litres_trial_promo)

Every Breath You Take (I’ll be Watching You) (#litres_trial_promo)

Beauty and the Beast (#litres_trial_promo)

Pause for Thought: Naming Death (#litres_trial_promo)