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A review by richardbakare
The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments by Hadley Vlahos
3.0
Hadley Vlahos “The In-Between” feels like is a freshman effort trying to tackle a senior-level dissertation. Vlahos attempts to make an argument for a third way between believing and non-believing by sharing remembrances of the final days of her hospice patients along with the tumultuous and miraculous times of her own life. It’s a journey I was eager to read but should have checked my own expectations at the door.
Vlahos should first be commended for tackling such an emotional topic as hospice and end-of-life care. She does so with a decorum and straightforward prose that makes the topic accessible and less frightening than you might expect. The writing is at the same time so rudimentary that you’d wish it had just been delivered as a TED Talk or Podcast Series. The power in the message is dulled by Vlahos’ style but worth noting that topic deserves exploring all the same.
The accolades for the book rests solely in how Vlahos manages to gracefully argue for the “In-Between” as a space between the realities of life and death in contrast to how belief. Both shape how we seek care and what we think comes after we’re gone. In that space, there is room for all walks of life to find acceptance, peace, and purpose even in the final moments. It’s also a moment where the otherwise spiritual phenomena walk side by side with physiological events.
This exploration of a very metaphysical topic makes the book equal parts spiritual journey, self-help, and philosophical musing on what comes next. Especially in how Vlahos uses her own personal journey to highlight the lack of humanity in our healthcare system while also offering glimpses of deep compassion. It’s a quick and straightforward read that has promise but under delivers. Perhaps I was expecting something akin to Oliver Sacks and his book “An Anthropologist on Mars.”
Vlahos should first be commended for tackling such an emotional topic as hospice and end-of-life care. She does so with a decorum and straightforward prose that makes the topic accessible and less frightening than you might expect. The writing is at the same time so rudimentary that you’d wish it had just been delivered as a TED Talk or Podcast Series. The power in the message is dulled by Vlahos’ style but worth noting that topic deserves exploring all the same.
The accolades for the book rests solely in how Vlahos manages to gracefully argue for the “In-Between” as a space between the realities of life and death in contrast to how belief. Both shape how we seek care and what we think comes after we’re gone. In that space, there is room for all walks of life to find acceptance, peace, and purpose even in the final moments. It’s also a moment where the otherwise spiritual phenomena walk side by side with physiological events.
This exploration of a very metaphysical topic makes the book equal parts spiritual journey, self-help, and philosophical musing on what comes next. Especially in how Vlahos uses her own personal journey to highlight the lack of humanity in our healthcare system while also offering glimpses of deep compassion. It’s a quick and straightforward read that has promise but under delivers. Perhaps I was expecting something akin to Oliver Sacks and his book “An Anthropologist on Mars.”