Fragments on the Deathwatch

Fragments on the Deathwatch
ISBN-10
080704119X
ISBN-13
9780807041192
Category
Social Science
Pages
270
Language
English
Published
1999-02-23
Publisher
Beacon Press
Author
Louise Harmon

Description

Keeping vigil over the dying is an essential human practice with long cultural traditions and profound psychological benefits. Yet, as legal scholar Louise Harmon shows, the institutions of modern life-from hospitals to courtrooms-intrude on the practice. In this humane and lyrical book, Harmon looks at literature, philosophy, history, and autobiography as she delicately probes the taboos around discussion of death. She asks whether the law can recognize the needs of families and loved ones and protect the space of their grieving.

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