I cannot recall how I have come across a mention of the book, but once I learnt of its existence, I immediately signed up for it with my infallible provider of readings – the district library of Ursynów.
The paperback, which is a structured jumble of interviews, came up to me as a loose follow-up to Tomasz Stawiszyński’s work (a new book of the philosopher to premiere in October), in which the author repeatedly underlined death had been unduly erased from the contemporary culture.
The set of interviews is literally titled “More than life – what the dying can teach us”. The first part of the title brings out several thoughts. Nothing is precious more than life. Nothing can be cherished more than life. Then a penny drops – will I read about people holding on to life tightly? Will a dying human always hold on to life? Would they take every effort to extend their stay in this universe, or would they prefer to depart before the suffering gets unbearable? Do not expect the book to provide you with any answer. The death in a moral, ethical, philosophical and psychological perspective is an abstruse and complex issue.
The decease and all its aspects – medical, legal, religious are brought closer to a reader in a series of conversations with people who, by dint of their professions, deal with dying people on a daily basis. The common denominators of all interlocutors is their reserve towards the very phenomenon of departure (inevitable, if they want to keep their sanity) that they do not pass judgements nor can indicate any universal rules.
The book explores in an approachable manner the topic of euthanasia, futile therapies, pain alleviation, terminal care and other issues whose ethical and medical dimensions are controversial. More sensitive readers might find it difficult to go through chapters on suicides (but oddly enough committed on the spur of the moment, not in an episode of depression) or departing terminally ill children, but I do believe for the sake of knowing the world we live in, they, along with the entire book, are a recommendable read.
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