In the Midst of Life

Another well written book by Jennifer Worth. Extremely thought-provoking. She raises questions about how we handle end of life issues from a medical standpoint and whether our extreme measures to preserve life are really the kindest and best way to go.

The language is beautiful and the author has such a beautiful way of writing about people. In the first few books we were about life-- the good, bad and ungly-- this is about the end of life. Still beautiful and told through stories and commentary.

An amazing book about the end of life, written about REAL people from a nurse's point of view. Love the PBS series, Call the Midwife, and all of Jennifer Worth's books! She has very amazing insight into all aspects of illness, birth, life and death! In this book she writes about a topic, death, that most of us would rather not think about, but in a beautiful way!

This book is authored by the person who wrote the stories behind the series "Ask the Midwife" on PBS. The book captured my attention at once, and was read immediately. It is a thought provoking work that will remain in my mind for a long time. Recommend this book highly.

The experiences and observations of dying described in Jennifer Worth's book, "In the Midst of Life" were truly thought provoking. However, from the description of the book which I read prior to ordering it, I was not prepared for it. I would have liked more of the stories that are presented in "Call the Midwife" or at least a balance of both. And though I was pleased with Worth's handling of the stories which were not at all depressing, I was disappointed in the total theme of the book. CLVega in Dallas

xxxx an excellent easy read Jennifer Worth writes beautifully about what we all dread our end to this life.I could not put this book down & eagily looked forward to getting back to it. I am a nurse for the last 40yrs & have seen many deaths. I wish we could make the exits better & people have plans in place so we are not last minute rushing around to find what patients want after we have commenced interventions. To die a peaceful death with your loved ones near is the gold standard. I will be reading all of Jennifer Worth's books the human touch/stories reminds me of many in my career.

If I had read the reviews and introduction before hand would not have purchased the book. Does deal in depth about medical and dying which I found morbid therefore skipped a lot of pages by glancing through the. I think I was under the impression it would be like the other books.

I loved the other three books but found this book terribly depressing. I closed it halfway through. It was too close to home for me. I would not recommend it to anyone who finds themselves in the situations mentioned. It certainly did not make me understand the morbid fascination with death.

A mixture of nursing stories, and stories of family and friends, with accompanying statistics and other background information on death and dying, this insightful work questions the manner in which we die in modern society and the prudence of modern medical intervention at the time of death. I found the information and stories within, to be at times sad, others beautiful, but always thought-provoking. This work raises important questions that every person living in a modern society should not only think about, but discuss with their family. Highly recommended!

Quite different in many ways to her Midwife stories --- in fact it is an Interesting look at life and death and the part a nurse plays as a "midwife" at the end of life just as much as at the beginnings. She honours death as a natural part of life. The book gives an excellent picture of the development of the Hospice Service over the last 50 or so years amidst appropriate and readable anecdotes from her nursing experiences.

Written by the author of Call the Midwife, In the Midst of Life is a gorgeous book which explores the value of embracing the inevitability of death and, when we're faced with death, to experience it as the sacred, family-centered event it's meant to be---so much the same as birth ♥

In the Midst of Life is similar to another of my favorites, With the End in Mind by Kathryn Mannix. I wholeheartedly recommend it!

I bought this book, having read the Call the Midwife trilogy and wanting more. It really didn't follow the East End midwife narrative at all, but focused instead on the author's experiences as a nurse, specifically dealing with death and the care of the dying. Initially I wondered what I'd gotten myself into, being so different from anything I would have chosen to read. However, I found myself drawn into the narrative and really appreciating it. What sticks with me the most is the loneliness that many people feel toward the end, and how important good hospice care is. I suspect Mrs. Worth felt that she was close to death, seeing as she died so shortly after publication, and that's what interested her in writing this book. Whatever the motive, it is a worthy read.

This book was published one year before the author died of esophageal cancer. I felt much the same way about this book as I did Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science by Atul Gawande - written with compassionate wisdom and candor. Jennifer's voice is clear about the reality and necessity of death with genuine compassion for the patient. She tells us how it was during her time as a nurse, where nurses would sit by the patient's bedside through the night when he was near death and no family or friends were present. No one was allowed to die alone. Today, with our highly developed medical systems and monitors patients can be monitored more cheaply from a central location. With modern medical technology it has become almost illegal to allow someone to die naturally. She questions, just because we have the technology to keep a person alive, should we? Is it really in the best interests of the patient and the family? The author abhors even the thought of euthanasia. What she does is ask honest questions, using real life/death stories that cause the reader to reconsider that death is a natural part of living; not something to be avoided at all cost to the patient and family. A friend living in the Philippines tells me that dialysis has come to the Philippines and it wreaking havoc among families who pull all their resources together to purchase a few dialysis treatments to extend life... but the ability to transplant has not yet come to the Philippines. So, instead of patients dying a natural death with family gathered round the beloved extended family members are emptying bank accounts to extend life only briefly with no hope of saving that same life. It is well written; deeply compassionate, sensible and discusses the reality of forcing loved ones into prolonged suffering because in this modern age of technology we have lost our understanding of a time to live and a time to die.

Jennifer Worth, an exceptional British author, writes of her nursing and personal experiences with the dying. Her compassionate care of each human is eye-opening and often heartbreaking, the emotion she feels but mostly suppresses in order to deal effectively with her patient and family. The irony is shortly after this book was published, Mrs Worth succumbed to cancer and the world lost the very talented "Call The Midwife" creator.

This is a most moving and detailed exploration of the progress we have made in easing the passage through the last stage of life. As a contemporary of Jennifer Worth and as a medical student and physician in England I experienced similar situations. Jennifer Worth writes with passion and her ability to convey thoughts and emotions is superb. I really enjoyed reading this book and it gave me much cause for thought throughout

Jennifer Worth has written a great series of books. In The Midst of Life, is a very interesting book dealing with a very serious and seldom spoken of subject, dying with dignity. I recommend reading it after the Call the Midwife series, as they follow Jennifer's life chronologically.

I have really enjoyed reading all of the "call the midwife" series. This book deals with the issues surrounding death and dying and it was really an insightful read. I would highly recommend it as Jennifer Worth has such a lovely writing style which is really enjoyable to read!