What colour is cancer? Why do some people appear to have made miraculous recoveries? How can you tell when someone is in the final hours of their life? How can we ensure our most vulnerable are treated with the dignity they deserve?
In this unprecedented memoir, a palliative medicine pioneer explores the biggest taboo in our society and the only certainty we all share: death. Kathryn Mannix immortalises the thousands of men and women she has seen off. These unforgettable stories send an urgent message to the living, answering all our questions about the end-of-life process with touching honesty and humanity.
Drawing on four decades of experience studying and practicing palliative care, Mannix shows us what happens when people are approaching the end of their lives: how they cope, how they live, what matters most, how dying evolves, what a deathbed is like and how families react.