Beyond the Good Death: The Anthropology of Modern Dying

by James W. Green

In November 1998, millions of television viewers watched as Thomas Youk died. Suffering from the late stages of Lou Gehrig's disease, Youk had called upon infamous Michigan pathologist Dr. Jack Kevorkian to help end his life on his own terms. After delivering the videotape to 60 Minutes , Kevorkian was arrested and convicted of manslaughter, despite the fact that Youk's family firmly believed that the ending of his life qualified as a good death. Death is political, as the controversies surrounding Jack Kevorkian and, more recently, Terri Schiavo have shown. While death is a natural event, modern end-of-life experiences are shaped by new medical, demographic, and cultural trends. People who are dying are kept alive, sometimes against their will or the will of their family, with powerful medications, machines, and "heroic measures." Current research on end-of-life issues is substantial, involving many fields. Beyond the Good Death takes an anthropological approach, examining the changes in our concept of death over the last several decades. As author James W. Green determines, the attitudes of today's baby boomers differ greatly from those of their parents and grandparents, who spoke politely and in hushed voices of those who had "passed away." Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, in the 1960s, gave the public a new language for speaking openly about death with her "five steps of dying." If we talked more about death, she emphasized, it would become less fearful for everyone. The term "good death" reentered the public consciousness as narratives of AIDS, cancer, and other chronic diseases were featured on talk shows and in popular books such as the best-selling Tuesdays with Morrie . Green looks at a number of contemporary secular American death practices that are still informed by an ancient religious ethos. Most important, Beyond the Good Death provides an interpretation of the ways in which Americans react when death is at hand for themselves or for those they care about.

Genres: Anthropology, Nonfiction, Psychology

272 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2008

Reviews

[Possum P · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not an anthropology of modern dying. Green's focus is almost exclusively on white, middle/upper-class north Americans. Any attention given to people outside of this spectrum is given almost exclusively to support his views on how white, middle/upper class North Americans experience death. His final chapter dedicates a few paragraphs as a by-the-way to black people. I understand that anthropologists need to narrow our perspective so that we can cram our ideas into one book, but the title of the book is misleading. I get the sense that Green thinks this book really is an entire anthropology on modern dying.

[Cassie Apperloo · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like a 3.5? Not a “true” ethnography - definitely centred around white, upper/middle class North American experience. Overall, an alright work; but I would’ve loved more proper anthropology and less meta-ethnography of the white American medicalized EOLC spectrum.

[Kim Shively · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in preparation for teaching a course on the Anthropology of Death and Dying. I needed something that dealt with the many facets of death and dying in the US, and this book certainly provided plenty of food for thought. This isn't an ethnography in the traditional sense but more of a meta-ethnography--a discussion and ethnographic exploration of various ethnographies and other writings on death in the US.