With The End In Mind (A Book Review)

 

“But this is the wisdom of a long life: none of us is immortal, and every day brings us closer to our last.”

It’s a searing memoir regarding death of patients in cancer and hospice care from the eyes of palliative care consultant, Kathryn Mannix. She illustrates death with delicate yet honest manners, guiding us through its process and patterns.

How death could be creeping slow, and gentler than it has always been depicted in most mainstream media. It could prompt us gently, usually when no one sees, or almost abruptly which left people wet in shock.

It’s hard not to cry reading this book. The first story made me cry out the tears of acceptance. The second one was too shocking that I froze in my seat. And the fourth one was simply heartbreaking.

Even in the middle of the stories, when things seemed to be progressing well, right before the moment I took in the breath of relief, I was hit with the fact that, this book is about death, that demises will take place at the end of the stories, either being told or left hanging.

That, the relief feels wrong. That it feels wrong to let myself getting carried away with relief when the prediction was there from the start.

The fulfilment I felt when I finished this book, made me realized how it’s been quite a while since the last time I read books this fulfilling. Kathryn’s usage of words also sound beautifully in my head, the way she described things, like a beautiful prose being weaved. Besides her deep, rhetoric questions that always made me pause and ponder.

She also mentioned on euthanasia, or assisted death, which is banned in most countries but not in Netherlands. The word directly transports me to the film, Me Before You. She also shared a story of a transferred patient from Netherlands which refused to continue the treatment there when the doctors kept trying to talk to him into euthanasia.

But what really swept me over is her priceless, rare wisdom. It truly feels like a privilege, a true opportunity to see the other sides of life from someone like her. It’s hard to move on from her wisdom, not that I want to. Some of her words simply stays in my head, even until this moment, which I hope they will stay there permanently. I'm happy to cling on her words and keep pondering. 

This is such an important read and I'd recommend this book to everyone I know. 

I'm looking forward to read her latest work, Listen. (already had it added to my library after I finished this book!)