Book column: We can all make a more peaceful exit, author says
The Boston Globe · Kate Tuttle ·
“This is the book that I wish my family had had,” says Sarah Cavanaugh, speaking of the time her mother, a healthy 60-something, was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. She spent her last few months chasing aggressive and exhausting treatment, and died in a way that haunted her daughter.
“This is the book that I wish my family had had,” says Sarah Cavanaugh, speaking of the time her mother, a healthy 60-something, was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. She spent her last few months chasing aggressive and exhausting treatment, and died in a way that haunted her daughter.
Cavanaugh’s memories of her mother’s death were revived when she began conducting focus groups on people’s feelings about the end of life, research that she presented in a popular online course, then a podcast, and now a book, “Peaceful Exit: A Guide to Re-Imagining Your Final Chapter” (River Grove Books).
Life’s ending, the book argues, is just as sacred, beautiful, and natural as its beginning. And yet too often we don’t prepare for the kind of death we want, or even think about how to get there. Most of us don’t talk about death as much as we think we should. “I think a lot of people are afraid,” she says. “Ninety percent of Americans think we should be talking about death, but only about 27 percent actually do.”
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