A Midwife through the Dying Process

Quill's portraits of his own role and that of other physicians who have aided their patients in dying are direct, honest, and extremely informative... Many readers will see Quill's composite portrait as the best, most evocative description of a physician's appropriate role in assisting a patient who is dying, that of a 'midwife through the dying process'—a phrase he borrowed from one of his patients.

Timothy Quill's book provides a rich resource for teaching health care students. The lessons learned from these moving stories will be extremely important for their careers as healers and will provide them with a look into the real heart of our profession. The stories are also lessons for patients and their families, showing us the fundamental shared humanity of very different individuals who are dying.

We won't all be lucky enough to have Dr. Quill at our bedsides when we die, but we can have him as a storyteller. These stories are more than inspiring; they're important, wise, and simply wonderful to read.