The Art of Conversation through Serious Illness. Edited by R.P. McQuellon, M.A. Cowan. 2010, pp. 143, £9.99, ISBN: 978-0-19-538922-7. Oxford University Press, New York, NY, USA.
The authors consider how to best listen to and speak with one facing life-threatening illness, with lessons on being a primary conversation partner, becoming properly empathic and receiving empathy, maintaining everyday conversation, using platitudes appropriately, understanding healthy denial, and talking about dying. Offering bedside guidance usually only available to professionals and peppered with insightful anecdotes from the authors' own experiences, this gentle, succinct book is appropriate for anyone going through this uniquely difficult yet universal life experience.
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