ABSTRACT
"Dying" is too vague and general to describe all the distinctive pathways to death. The moment when life passes into death has long been charged with passionate meanings. This chapter considers dying not so much as an abstraction but as an experience that takes many forms, depending on the nature and management of the illness, the social support system available, and the unique person whose life is in jeopardy. The point when dying begins depends on our frame of reference. The chapter also considers some of the contexts in which the onset of dying is discovered or certified. The research team organized many of its observations according to the concept of trajectories of dying. All dying processes take time; all have certain paths through time. The chapter reviews three of the dying trajectories identified by Glaser and Strauss: lingering trajectory, expected quick trajectory, and unexpected quick trajectory.
