It's not easy, but it must be done
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-- Otila Cuellar Vilma Medrano's daughter Read their story 
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The silence in the back bedroom of a small house in suburban Corpus Christi, Texas, is shared by families and patients everywhere. In homes and hospital rooms emotions muffle conversations that could comfort the dying.
It's not only family and friends who go mute in the shadow of death. Frequently it is the doctor. Unable to heal every patient, doctors are prone to deflect the subject, viewing death as a failure.
Scholars of dying say death is often most painful for those who deny its approach. In libraries and bookstores, hundreds of books offer advice -- how to prepare for death, think about death, talk about death.
Click here for a list of books and groups that can help you deal with these issues. You'll also find advice on how to develop a living will.
- ALSO
- Browse the results from two national last rights surveys.
- Review the medical milestones that changed our view of death.
There also are forums on this site where you can discuss these issues with other readers.
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