Words at the Threshold

The Final Words Project has amassed 1,500 case histories of end-of-life words, which are extensively analysed in this ground-breaking book. The starting point was the author's experience of the death of her father recounted above, and as a linguist she was interested in patterns of language expression; working with Raymond Moody, she also came to understand the more general significance of nonsense statements, which Raymond has been studying for over 40 years. One interesting theme is the continuum of language from the literal through the symbolic and metaphorical to the telepathic. Various examples are given of telepathic communication (and also synchronicity), and it is suggested that this system kicks in when normal physiological channels fail.

The language of journeys is pervasive, with related imagery of packing and getting ready to go - in one case, the dying person says 'watch me disappear' and immediately dies. Consistent with other literature, dying people find themselves on the threshold between worlds and can often see things invisible to everyday perception. There is a very interesting discussion on different types of nonsense, including situational, prepositional (up and down) and hybrid, with a related analysis of non-referential language. However, even if there is no physical referent for the carer, there may well be a transcendent referent for the dying person so in that sense the language is not entirely non-referential. In any event, it seems that we move into a world that cannot be adequately described in sequential language. This important study sheds new light on the dying process as we gradually build up a clearer picture of how death is a transition to another dimension of consciousness.