The Troubled Dream of Life: In Search of a Peaceful Death

by Daniel Callahan

Overview

Drawing on his own experience, and on literature, philosophy, and medicine, Daniel Callahan offers great insight into how to deal with the rewards of modern medicine without upsetting our perception of death. He examines how we view death and the care of the critically ill or dying, and he suggests ways of understanding death that can lead to a peaceful acceptance. Callahan's thoughtful perspective notably enhances the legal and moral discussions about end-of-life issues.

Originally published in 1993 by Simon and Schuster.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781589014718
Publisher:	Georgetown University Press
Publication date:	06/12/2000
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

The co-founder and former president of the Hastings Center, Daniel Callahan is currently the director of international programs there and author of Setting Limits: Medical Goals in an Aging Society, and What Kind of Life? The Limits of Medical Progress (Georgetown University Press).

Table of Contents

IntroductionCan Death Be Shaped to Our Own Ends?

1. The First Illusion: Mastering Our Medical Choices

2. Stripping Death Bare: The Recovery of Nature

3. The Last Illusion: Regulating Euthanasia

4. Living with the Mortal Self

5. Nature, Death, and Meaning: Shaping Our End

6. Pursuing a Peaceful Death

7. Watching and Waiting

Notes

Index

Editorial Reviews

Medical ethicist Callahan suggests some ways of bringing the legal and policy issues in the care of the dying and critically ill back into closer contact with some of the oldest questions of human existence. He discusses how people might think about death in their own lives; what it should mean; what kind of people should the dying become; how to bear pain, suffering, and fear; and other questions. Originally published by Simon and Schuster in 1993. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

A beautiful book, richly suggestive and wise. . . . This book puts the rampant debate about our contemporary responses to suffering and death in a new light.

Commonweal

Of the many books that deal with death and dying, end-of-life care, and assisted suicide, none surpasses the work of Daniel Callahan, a name practically synonymous with the emergence of bioethics in this country. His work, The Troubled Dream of Life, is required reading for anyone who cares to think about the place of death in our lives.

Clergy Journal

Valuable and lucid.

Chicago Tribune

Valuable and lucid.

Chicago Tribune

"A beautiful book, richly suggestive and wise. . . . This book puts the rampant debate about our contemporary responses to suffering and death in a new light."—Commonweal

"Valuable and lucid."—Chicago Tribune

"Of the many books that deal with death and dying, end-of-life care, and assisted suicide, none surpasses the work of Daniel Callahan, a name practically synonymous with the emergence of bioethics in this country. His work, The Troubled Dream of Life, is required reading for anyone who cares to think about the place of death in our lives."—Clergy Journal

From the Publisher