Turning toward death together: Conversation in mortal time
- 5 September 2000
- journal article
- review article
- Published by SAGE Publications in American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine®
- Vol. 17 (5), 312-318
- https://doi.org/10.1177/104990910001700508
Abstract
Death has a different meaning for everyone it touches, and these meanings have serious impact on how each person communicates with others as they deal with it together. This paper is a reflection on clinical experience in dealing with the dying and their caregivers in a comprehensive cancer center. By “mortal time,” we mean the psychological state human beings enter when confronted with the prospect of death. Our focus is on a particular and powerful instance of the entry into mortal time—the diagnosis of a terminal illness. The experience of mortal time is profoundly subjective. Authentic conversation has the power not only to enhance how people cope practically with dying, but to illuminate and enrich the very meaning of life for patients and caregivers alike, as they enter the sacred moment of mortal time together.Keywords
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- Health Promotion in OncologyJournal of Psychosocial Oncology, 1990