A reflection on dying: why we need to reclaim the forgotten wisdom

Over the second half of the twentieth century, advances in medicine enabled treatment of previously life-ending illnesses. The resulting shift in place of care for mortally sick people from home to hospital succeeded in preventing many premature deaths, yet it also caused the public to lose familiarity with the process of 'ordinary dying.' The loss of public understanding of dying has resulted in avoidance of conversations about dying, in failure to anticipate and plan ahead, and in avoidable distress as deathbed companions misinterpret features of the dying process as suffering.