Death and Dying
'My new body was weightless and extremely mobile, and I was fascinated by my new state of being. Although I had felt pain from the surgery only moments before, I now felt no discomfort at all. I was whole in every way -- perfect," (Eadie "Embraced" 30). In her groundbreaking book Embraced by the Light, Betty J. Eadie writes about her own near-death experience to help dispel the universal fear of dying. Eadie's body was clinically dead during a surgical procedure, but her consciousness remained vital and alive. Not only did Eadie live to tell the story, but her encounter with death was a spiritual awakening, an experience that positively changed her perspective on life. Personal accounts such as Eadie's abound in the literature, demonstrating that death and dying need not be the fearsome processes many would believe them to be. In the 1960s, author Elisabeth Kubler-Ross garnered personal testimony from numerous dying patients, attesting to the spiritually transformative powers of the dying process for both the patient and the bereaved. Case studies of near-death experiences, ubiquitous in popular reading self-help books as well as in peer-reviewed scholarly journals, draw attention to the efficacy of current right-to-die laws in the United States. Based on the case studies of near-death experiences, which frequently include religious imagery and being "embraced by the light," assisted suicide should be an inalienable right for citizens of the United States.
The case studies included in autobiographical works like Betty J. Eadie's Embraced by the Light and George Ricthie's Return from Tomorrow, and compilation texts such as Elisabeth Kubler-Ross's On Death and Dying, Maggie Callanan and Patricia Kelley's Final Gifts, Raymond Moody's Life After Life, Ira Byock's Dying Well, illustrate that current legal policies regarding the right-to-die are outmoded. Death is an absolute and immutable certainty: all things that live, including human beings, die. The aim of all physicians and all loved ones should not be to extend the life of those suffering from terminal illness, but rather to ensure as peaceful and painless transition from life to death as is possible. Ira Byock calls the assurance of a peaceful death...
Healthcare The Pilgrims Must Embark addresses specific issues associated with treating persons with AIDS (PWA). The film exhibits the importance of cultural sensitivity and communications in nursing. "Many hospitals are ill equipped to care for the chronically ill, and nursing homes are reluctant to admit PWA," (Adelman & Frey, n.d., p. 4). Creating an independent but assisted living community became the central challenge, focus, and goal of the Bonaventure House. The
Grief or loss can cause change -- force evolution, if you will, into the human ability for personal growth and self-actualization. Certainly grief is a human emotion; as much a part of us (Kubler-Ross, 2009). Psychologically, grief is a response to loss -- conventionally emotional, but also having physical, cognitive, social, philosophical, and even behavioral dimensions. There are numerous theories about grief, some popularized, some scholarly, but all try to
Death in Thomas and Dickinson In many ways, Dylan Thomas' "Do not go gentle into that good night" and Emily Dickinson's "Because I could not stop for death" are ideal texts to consider when attempting to examine human beings anxieties regarding death, dying, and the longing for permanence, because they make vastly different points in strikingly similar ways. That is to say, while they share some elements of form, style, and
Death and Dying Heard the Owl Call My Name The first dilemma in Margaret Craven's I heard the owl call my name arises within the clergy community, as a Bishop debates whether or not to tell his young Anglican missionary that the missionary only has "a little less than two years if he's lucky" (11). For some people, living out the last two years of a life in remote Indian villages
Kubler-Ross, Elisabeth. On Death and Dying. Scribner, 1997. A seminal work on the subject of death and dying, Kubler-Ross's book was initially published in the 1960s and remains relevant. On Death and Dying is a commentary on the views toward death and dying held by our culture and therefore illustrates the underlying moral and ideological principles that have guided public policy in the area of right-to-die ethics. Moreover, Kubler-Ross emphasizes
Death Rituals of Different Cultures and Countries Death Rituals of different Cultures/Countries As the globe is full of numerous civilizations and cultures in a very diverse manner, similarly, their rituals, traditions and ceremonies related to life and death are also different from one another. The people belonging to these cultures have their own sets of beliefs that are witnessed through the ways they celebrate their occasions, festivals and even the death rituals
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