And a Time to Die: How American Hospitals Shape the End of Life Paperback – September 15, 2006

This was an assigned reading for my college medical anthropology class but I was glad I had to read it. Kaufman filled this book with real life situations she encountered during her research. You'll read about men and women (not always elderly) who are dying of one thing or another and see how the patients themselves, their families, and the medical staff deal with (or don't deal with) their situations.Kaufman uses these true stories to show how patients need to make their wishes clear but how they often don't, and how families can choose to respect or not respect those wishes. She shows that the way the medical community operates is often not very "user friendly", but alternately how the choices people make for themselves and their loved ones basically "tie" the hands of doctors and can prevent them from doing what they think is best.The chapters are basically set up that she briefly tells the reader what examples she will be using, spends the majority of the body of each chapter recounting conversations between patients, families and medical staff before she concludes the chapter with some analysis. She does say what she wants her readers to get out of each part but the majority of the impact I think readers will get from this book is from reading the individual examples.My fellow students and I agreed that this book would be a useful read for just about everyone starting at perhaps late high school age depending on maturity levels. At some point in our lives we all will probably know/have direct interaction with someone who is at the end of life, and unless we experience a fatal accident, will likely have to make or plan our own end of life choices. This book will help readers understand the complexity involved and hopefully help make them more prepared forwhen it's their turn to make decisions(as much as anyone can actually be prepared for death....).

I read this for my Medical Anthropology class in college, and I got lost in the topic. It is a very powerful book, and you find yourself asking questions about hospital/caretaker/hospice care and the ethics and politics of medicine. I really recommend this for college courses, but it's also a good read if you want to emerge yourself in this deep (and sometimes disturbing) reality of death. It made me think about my life (and of course death) planning and how I would want to leave this world and what responsibilities I would press onto my friends and family at the end of life.

I bought this book for a class I'm going to take (I'm a psych undergrad major/human services minor focusing in thanatology). This book is so revealing. Even if you aren't going to take a class on death and dying, thanatology, or something like it, buy this book. We are all are affected by the way hospitals shape the end of our lives, whether it be our own or one of our family members, and this book really sheds some light on it. I recommend this book to anyone. It's incredible.

I have been reading many books lately on death with dignity from many different aspects. This book was very broad, and being written by an anthopologist covered many areas of "being there" as people were at the end. I learned more from this book than those written by doctors.

Death by hospital is not a good one and you need to know what to decide ahead of an illness for you or a loved one.

Well crafted and thoughtfully researched book on an urgent but morally, ethically sensitive topic.Highly recommended read for persons note rested in what is current in today's healthcare culture.

"And A Time To Die: How Americans Shape The End of Life" is definitely not light summer reading. Instead, it is a serious and revealing look at the way people die in this country. Fifty years ago most people died at home. For a whole host of reasons detailed in this book this is no longer the case. The simple fact is that most folks find themselves ill-prepared when faced with life and death decisions involving themselves or close family members. Author Sharon R. Kaufman has done us all a great service. "And A Time To Die" brings the reader up to speed on the issues, the terminology, the technology and the players involved in various end of life scenarios. Just what is meant by the term "persistant vegetative state"? What are the advantages and drawbacks of CPR? Is hospice care really a better alternative to a conventional hospital for many of these patients? What happens when the patients wishes are at odds with the wishes of the family? And just what role does religion play in the life and death decisions people are forced to make? These issues and a great many others are presented in clear, concise and easy to understand language.Sharon Kaufman, a professor of medical anthropology at the University of California, spent two full years observing and interviewing terminally ill patients and their families. She also spent considerable time speaking with doctors, nurses and hospital staff who must struggle with these issues on a daily basis. She presents the stories of 27 patients who find themselves in ICU's (intensive care units) or in other specialized hospital units. To be honest, a good many of these stories are downright disturbing. One cannot imagine what many of these patients and their families are forced to endure. And what is so frustrating is that the structural deficiencies of the American health care system are largely responsible for so many of these problems. Reading this book will surely convince you that there is so much that needs to change.Admittedly the issues are complex and the subject matter is not particularly pleasant. But as a practical matter, it is extremely important for people to get up to speed on many of these issues. I can only conclude that I found "And A Time To Die: How American Hospitals Shape the End of Life" to be a very worthwhile use of my time. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to you as well.

Great purchase! thanks!