ABSTRACT
Ira Byock, M.D. (1997) moves us to a new way of thinking about life and
death and how we might walk as “be-ing” people who then become “do-ing”
people. “Roll over and play dead” is harsh and unkind, but it represents how
many approach the death of someone else or their own death. Finality chokes out
living because many think (often based on false information from others) that
this is the way it is to be done. This is one of many side effects of living in denial
of death. Is there a rule that we are to stop living just because Death is knocking
at our door? Living and dying are, in many ways, the markers that define who
we are, our self-appreciation, and how we are influenced by death’s approach.
