And a Time to Die

Over the past thirty years, the way Americans experience death has been dramatically altered. The advent of medical technology capable of sustaining life without restoring health has changed where, when, and how we die. In this revelatory study, medical anthropologist Sharon R. Kaufman examines the powerful center of those changes: the hospital, where most Americans die today. ...

Over the past thirty years, the way Americans experience death has been dramatically altered. The advent of medical technology capable of sustaining life without restoring health has changed where, when, and how we die. In this revelatory study, medical anthropologist Sharon R. Kaufman examines the powerful center of those changes: the hospital, where most Americans die today. She deftly links the experiences of patients and families, the work of hospital staff, and the ramifications of institutional bureaucracy to show the invisible power of the hospital system in shaping death and our individual experience of it. In doing so, Kaufman also speaks to the ways we understand what it means to be human and to be alive.

"An act of courage and a public service."--"San Francisco Chronicle

""This beautifully synthesized and disquieting account of how hospital patients die melds disciplined description with acute analysis, incorporating the voices of doctors, nurses, social workers, and patients in a provocative analysis of the modern American quest for a 'good death.'"--"Publishers Weekly

""Kaufman exposes the bureaucratic and ethical quandaries that hover over the modern deathbed."--"Psychology Today

""Kaufman's analysis illuminates the complexity of the care of critically ill and dying patients [and] the ambiguity of slogans such as 'death with dignity, ' 'quality of life, ' and 'stopping life support.' . . . Thought-provoking reading for everyone contemplating the fate of us all."--"New England"" Journal of Medicine

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莎伦·考夫曼（Sharon R. Kaufman），加州大学旧金山分校健康与老年研究所、社会与行为科学系教授，人类学、历史和社会医学系主任。考夫曼的研究兴趣包括一些相互关联的主题，如老年认同、主体性与晚年生活的意义，社会变迁与医学文化的转型，美国医院文化与晚期病人的临终，生物科技与伦理、医疗实践的关系，老年医疗保险政策与卫生保健体系改革，以及生命本身的人类学。由此可见，她的研究涉及医学人类学和老年人类学的许多核心议题。