Book Review
Why is it so difficult to die?
Brian Nyatanga
ISBN: 1-856420-46-9; 2000; 150 pages; Quay Books Division, Mark Allen Publishing Ltd;
Susan Bardy
Hospice Nurse Clinician, Mary Potter Hospice, North Adelaide SA
Welcome to a text that is truly relevant to the world of terminal illness. The title alone attracts attention and transforms the casual observer to full reader involvement. For those working in the field of palliative care it is a relevant, timely addition to an area that tends to be all too readily avoided and sometimes misunderstood. Author/Editor Brian Nyatanga maintains in the introduction to this book that death is the only certainty in life. Yet (he continues) society still hides behind a veil of discomfort when facing up to this inevitability. The book offers commonsense rationales with reasoned and intuitive argument covering most aspects of this still taboo and uncomfortable subject. Contributors paint a clear picture of how dying is not as easy as the general public and many professionals perceive it to be.
And all of this is refreshing coming from an academic. (Most of the academics I have met are preoccupied with 'theory' and to this end show an out of date obsessively bland awareness of clinical realities!). Yet Nyatanga's work reads very differently! Yes he is an academic, with formal credentials in Nursing, Education, and Psychology. Yet he would be equally at home in the clinical nursing culture accounting for his choice of inclusive content areas. Nyatanga authored five chapters leaving palliative medicine, ethical issues, and formal counselling to specialists in those disciplines. Gannon, Chippendale, and Bayliss complement Nyatanga's style of presentation. Each fellow contributor demonstrated true insight in end of life issues and predicaments.
The books' nine chapters discuss physical and psychological problems in terminal care as well as important practical issues, such as arranging funerals and care of the dead body in specific cultural groups, just to name two. Of particular interest is discussion of palliative medicine touching on difficulties doctors and nurses face when cure is no longer a realistic option. Craig Gannon in chapters 3 and 4 competently covers benefits and drawbacks of the medical presence in end of life situations. Readers of this section will become acutely aware of how refreshing it is to have an honest medical opinion that makes a point of the patient's individuality.
Elsewhere Simon Chippendale uses an easy to follow discussion of ethical issues, He includes frequently asked questions concerning death and dying. Jean Bayliss re-thinks (and in some instances re-defines) loss and grief bringing current ideas to the process of grief management.
In summary this book is a valuable addition to palliative care literature. It is easy to read and virtually jargon free and for this reason I recommend its use to multidisciplinary practitioners. While the cost could make it prohibitive for individual readers it is a must for a health and human services library collection.
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