Awards

• Winner of United States National Book Awards: Nonfiction 1994
• Winner of United States National Book Awards: Nonfiction 1994.

Overview

Reissued to coincide with the 25th anniversary of first publication - now with a foreword from Paul Kalanithi, author of When Breath Becomes Air What happens to us as we die? Discover the answers in this exclusive 25th anniversary edition of Sherwin B Nuland's seminal book With a foreword by Paul Kalanithi, bestselling author of When Breath Becomes Air. There are many books intended to help people deal with the trauma of bereavement, but few which explore the reality of death itself. Sherwin B. Nuland - with over thirty years' experience as a surgeon - explains in detail the processes which take place in the body and strips away many illusions about death. The result is a unique and compelling book, addressing the one final fact that all of us must confront. 'I don't know of any writer or scientist who has shown us the face of death as clearly, honestly and compassionately as Sherwin Nuland does here' James Gleick, author of Chaos

Full Product Details

9780099476412

Table of Contents

Reviews

How We Die is a classic of medical writing. It's at once scientific and accessible, precise and philosophical, elegant and blunt. Sherwin Nuland introduced a new kind of writing with this book, and his insights sparkle as much now as they did twenty-five years ago. They address not only how we die, but also how we can live. -- Andrew Solomon How We Die teaches and gives us the courage to come to terms with our own death. As difficult as the facts may be, it shows us they are less frightening than our imagination. It is a book that should be read by all. -- Julia Samuel, author of Grief Works

A great aid to that noble dinner party game: how would you choose to go if you could pick your mode of dying? Little philosophical waffle here: this is a series of gritty portraits of the physical reality of death from a variety of causes, including heart disease, murder, suicide, cancer and, inevitably, AIDS; supplemented with medical explanations of the mechanics of failing bodies. It is a process in which Dr Nuland discerns little dignity, however much we may wish it. Not for the hypochondriac, but justifiably a bestseller for demythologizing the secrets of dying now so well concealed by the modern hospital method of death. (Kirkus UK)

How We Die is a classic of medical writing. It's at once scientific and accessible, precise and philosophical, elegant and blunt. Sherwin Nuland introduced a new kind of writing with this book, and his insights sparkle as much now as they did twenty-five years ago. They address not only how we die, but also how we can live. * Andrew Solomon *

Author Information

Sherwin Nuland was a well-known surgeon in the US - at the top of his profession. He was the author of The Doctors, which explores the ethics of the medical world, How We Die, a bestseller in America and Britain and The Wisdom of the Body. Dr. Sherwin B. Nuland drew on more than 35 years in medicine and a childhood buffeted by illness in writing How We Die, an award-winning book that sought to dispel the notion of death with dignity and fuelled a national conversation about end-of-life decisions. He died in March 2014 at his home in Hamden, CT.

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