ABSTRACT
Dying persons regularly journey toward their deaths severed from self and self-understandings of what is happening to them. Contemporary images of the deathbed reflect the enormous dread and suffering that has become emblematic of modern death. During the twentieth century, not only have the styles of dying been transformed, but so has the relationship between human beings and mortality. From the voices of dying persons we learn about the value of certain values and the worthlessness of others. Unlike in the traditional patterns of Western death, there is enormous loneliness and isolation in modern dying. It is crucial to recognize that loneliness and isolation can even occur despite the presence of others in the life journey of dying persons. As individual contemplates his predicament he comes to understand that his desire to die, rather than to continue living in shadow of death and disease, stems from his social and personal exilement: the author guess that the feelings stem from feeling alone.
