When the Time Comes

This is a very important book of stories from the end of life, raising many issues around care, hospitalisation, living wills and relationships – and encouraging readers to plan for this inevitable eventuality. The accounts are as varied as peoples' differing experiences and all the more important in a context where 'no one should underestimate the ability of modern medicine to prolong life and suffering at enormous expense' – there is always something more that could be done in terms of tests and treatments, but our attitude to death gets in the way and we are inclined to put such things off. Each story raises its own issues, and at the end of each chapter are reflective questions and observations. We also need to know when to let go of love and life and how to navigate sudden changes in circumstances and the whole question of hope. Sometimes the right thing to do is nothing – this would be much easier if we recognised death as a transition rather than extinction. As Norman Swan observes in the afterword, 'death is part of life and it should be as good as life, not the horror that it can be, needlessly, if we'd only planned ahead.'