Abstract
Andrew Davison and Sioned Evans, Care for the Dying: A Practical and Pastoral Guide, Canterbury Press Norwich: London, 2014; 144 pp.: 9781848254701, £16.99 (pbk)
Media vita in morte sumus – ‘In the midst of life, we are in death.’ The solemn words, spoken at the time of Christian burial, acknowledge the frailty of human life. Physical decline and death are as integral to human experience as birth and physical growth. In Care for the Dying, Sioned Evans and Andrew Davison approach the topic of mortality with sensitivity to the connection of life and death.
The pairing of a palliative care specialist (Evans) and a Christian theologian (Davison) is unusual, but their voices blend well to provide a text that balances medical information with theological content. Care for the Dying is a welcome resource for caregivers, lay pastoral visitors and ministers/priests. The book reflects the approach of the palliative care movement, which endeavours to provide excellent care for those with terminal illnesses. Such care necessarily preserves the dignity of individuals. The authors’ clear and sensible approach demystifies physical death and highlights the needs of those who are dying. For example, Evans describes some of the typical processes that occur as the body ceases to function. Such information helps caregivers notice that the patient is drawing close to death. Knowing what to expect when accompanying a person through their last hours lowers caregivers’ anxiety levels and allows them to be present to the patient.
The book focuses at many points on how to be with the dying. Preserving the dignity of individuals means honouring who they are and the relationships one has with them. To be in relationship with others is to be attentive to them – to communicate, relate, listen, love – and to receive love in return. In the chapter entitled ‘Communication’, the authors combine this emphasis on being with practical advice. They highlight guarding the privacy of the patient and ensuring there is both time and appropriate space in which to communicate. They encourage awareness of the patient's physical limitations, such as hearing disabilities, limited mobility, or the inability to speak comfortably.
The book also addresses the pastoral needs of caregivers. In the chapter on ‘Self-Care’, the authors, with a nod to Thomas Aquinas, explain the necessity of caregivers attending to their own physical and emotional needs without guilt. A later chapter on ‘Caring for the Carers’ speaks to the pastoral care of patients’ loved ones by clergy and friends.
The practical portions of the book do not overshadow the theological content; nor do the authors shy away from discussing difficult issues, such as children and death, and assisted dying. The overarching theological approach to death and resurrection is accessible to those not trained in theology. Davison, the Starbridge Lecturer in Theology and Natural Sciences in Cambridge's Faculty of Divinity, provides an account of Christian hope in the face of death that is grounded in Scripture and influenced by the Thomistic theological tradition. The book challenges those in ministry (or training for it) to face their own mortality and work out what they believe happens after death. Indeed, how can clergy be a comforting, pastoral presence when they are anxious about being with dying people or hesitate to touch the casket of the deceased? As Davison asserts, death for Christians is understood in the light of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. ‘O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?’ (1 Cor. 15.55).
Care for the Dying should be required reading for ministry students and those training for chaplaincy. It is a book that clergy will want to give to those caring for people in the late stages of life.