How We Die Now: Intimacy and the Work of Dying

by Karla Erickson

As we live longer and die slower and differently than our ancestors, we have come to rely more and more on end-of-life caregivers. These workers navigate a changing landscape of old age and death that many of us have little preparation to encounter. How We Die Now is an absorbing and sensitive investigation of end-of-life issues from the perspectives of patients, relatives, medical professionals, and support staff.

 

Karla Erickson immersed herself in the daily life of workers and elders in a Midwestern community for over two years to explore important questions around the theme of “how we die now.” She moves readers through and beyond the many fears that attend the social condition of old age and reveals the pleasures of living longer and the costs of slower, sometimes senseless ways of dying.

 

For all of us who are grappling with the “elder boom,” How We Die Now offers new ways of thinking about our longer lives.

Genres: Nonfiction

212 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Cindy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is of limited application. I really didn't learn anything I didn't already know.
She discusses a certain Nursing Care Facility quite a bit. This is something that is currently available only if you have extra funds or insurance towards your long-term care

[Darnell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could also be titled "In defense of nursing homes" though it makes some attempts at balance. Has value, but not the book I'd read first on the topic.

[Kirsten Keefe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second installment in my New Year's resolution to read books by authors I know. Surprisingly hopeful for a rather grim topic. I really appreciated the lessons about dying shared by elder care workers.