Tisdale initially may seem to take a sardonic stance to her subject, but she could not be more earnest and authentic in adopting a compassionate understanding of death and dying. She draws from her rich array of familial care-giving experiences, from working as a nurse for more than three decades to working in a palliative care program serving the seriously ill. Being an accomplished author helped her create this well-written, unflinchingly honest work, making for a compelling read. Each chapter looks at another aspect of how people see death and dying, occurring in themselves and among their loved ones. Readers learn, for example, that remaining silent in the company of a dying loved one may offer better support than protestations claiming how diminished life will be without the dying person. This book is packed with a great wealth of useful information on how people die and the need to compassionately support the dying during their final days. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels.

--W. Feigelman, emeritus, Nassau Community College

William Feigelman

emeritus, Nassau Community College

Tisdale (Violation: Collected Essays), a former nurse, offers an intimate insider's look at dying, aimed at both caregivers and mortally ill people. By turns philosophical and pragmatic, Tisdale gently prods readers to make plans while they can. She meditates on the possibility of procuring a "good death," surveys body disposal practices from different times and cultures, and compassionately illustrates her themes with anecdotes from the lives and deaths of close friends. They include Carol, a lawyer who "had rarely been sick in her life" but was diagnosed with breast cancer soon after being elected as her rural county's first female judge, and Butch, an ex-con diagnosed with liver cancer a few years after being released from the prison he'd spent most of his adult life in. Much of the book is organized chronologically, with various chapters charting the "Last Months," "Last Weeks," "Last Days," and "That Moment." Of particular note are the appendices on advance directives, organ donation, and euthanasia, which are written in clear, accessible language. Tisdale's forthright narrative voice, charmingly bossy in style ("Be very careful about odors.... You don't want to be the most nauseating thing that happens in the day"), is so generous and kind in spirit that readers will gladly follow along. (June)