A review by givnuapeacesign
That Good Night: Life and Medicine in the Eleventh Hour by Sunita Puri

5.0

It took me a while to select this book from my mountain of books waiting to be read. Having lost both my parents and my father in law, I wasn’t sure I wanted to follow the recommendation that I read Dr. Puri’s book regarding the compassionate process of palliative medicine. After all, I’ve helped make those decisions three times, and I remember those emotions. I wish I had had the opportunity to learn Dr. Puri’s lessons before any of my loved ones fell critically ill. Although my parents clearly had their advance directives clearly in order, when that time comes, you are never ever ready. This book detailed several of Dr. Puri’s patients and their families’ processing of end of life decisions. Dignity, denial, fear, responsibility, resignation, pain... each case is different. Each family dynamic is unique. This book is a testament to compassion, faith, communication, and honesty. It opened my eyes to palliative medical practices, as well as how death can be many things to the individual. Highly recommend.