Signs of life

by Tim Brookes

Brookes initially intended to follow a methodical plan in order to gain insight into the mystery of our final days. He would volunteer at a local hospice to learn all he could about this growing movement - one that promotes a new level of emotional and physical care for the dying and that has become a powerful alternative to the often dehumanizing experience of death in a hospital or nursing home. He would also interview patients and experts in hospice care in hopes of limning the difficult decisions imminent death brings to the surface. But Brookes's plans changed shape dramatically when, shortly after he'd begun research for his book, his mother called to share her diagnosis of terminal pancreatic cancer. What began as an investigative analysis evolved to embrace the author's intimate account of meeting - and accepting - his mother's death on its own terms. Signs of Life, then, blends insightful reportage of a revolutionary program for helping the dying and a son's frank account of c