This unique book recounts the experience of facing one’s death solely from the dying person’s point of view rather than from the perspective of caregivers, survivors, or rescuers. Such unmediated access challenges assumptions about the emotional and spiritual dimensions of dying, showing readers that—along with suffering, loss, anger, sadness, and fear—we can also feel courage, love, hope, reminiscence, transcendence, transformation, and even happiness as we die. A work that is at once psychological, sociological, and philosophical, this book brings together testimonies of those dying from terminal illness, old age, sudden injury or trauma, acts of war, and the consequences of natural disasters and terrorism. It also includes statements from individuals who are on death row, in death camps, or planning suicide. Each form of dying addressed highlights an important set of emotions and narratives that often eclipses stereotypical renderings of dying and reflects the numerous contexts in which this journey can occur outside of hospitals, nursing homes, and hospices. Chapters focus on common emotional themes linked to dying, expanding and challenging them through first-person accounts and analyses of relevant academic and clinical literature in psycho-oncology, palliative care, gerontology, military history, anthropology, sociology, cultural and religious studies, poetry, and fiction. The result is an all-encompassing investigation into an experience that will eventually include us all and is more surprising and profound than anyone can imagine.

This book presents a kaleidoscopic view of the positive layers of ageing as well as key interventions that can help generate and maintain positivity and well-being among the elderly. It explores the connections of ageing with spirituality, nature and existentialism, and leisure to encourage creativity, individuation, happiness, and emotional detachment. It further examines various interventions such as end-of-life care, mindfulness and yoga, retrospection, life review, and so on, which may improve the overall quality of life by promoting the health of the elderly individual. The book focuses on authentic ageing, transpersonal gerontology, the concept of the elder child, geriatric interventions, and caregiving, and suggests practical improvements in health and facilities for the elderly. It also covers aspects of the inner life of the prolonged ailing or dying person from a mental health perspective and emphasizes the value of positive ageing. A guide to applied geriatrics and geriatric psychology, with its simple style and clear methods in end-to-end praxis, the book shows how mental well-being can be fostered in the elderly to help them find meaning and purpose in old age. This book will interest students, teachers, and researchers of psychology, positive psychology, geropsychology and gerontological studies, sociology and social work, public health, medical education, and geriatric nursing. It will also be useful to practitioners including psychologists, counsellors, gerontologists, mental health professionals and NGOs working with the elderly, and the interested reader.

With emphasis on the Society of Friends.