Synopsis
Through literature, philosophy, history and autobiography, Louise Harmon probes the taboos around discussions of death. The text represents a human and lyrical study of the vigil over the dying. It seeks to draw readers close to the mystery of death and considers the role of law in recognizing the needs of family and loved ones, and protecting the space of their grieving.

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4.0 out of 5 stars The way we lost the last, sacred moments of life., 3 Sep 1999

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This is the best book I have read on the current state of dying in the West. The author, Louise Harmon, is a law professor in Huntington, New York. Sounds dry, huh? Wrong. The book exposes the process by which death left the geography of the dying person's home and was transported to the hospital. With this shift in the place in which people died there was a corresponding explosion in technologies available to prolong life. Thus, a long, tedious legal and medical battle ensued against death itself, effectively pulling the plug on a significant and meaningful end to life. Fragments does an excellent job of documenting these changes in the dying process and their deleterious effects on our culture. Can any society afford to separate itself from its dying without a loss of its humanity?

Fragments is written in an unusual way, perhaps common to law texts. Whenever the author wants to take a rabbit trail, she includes a note with commentary at the bottom of the page. She also includes copious footnotes. The commentary and footnotes alone are worth the price of the book. Her discursive thoughts and ramblings are fascinating. She uses good metaphors that help the reader understand and follow her reasoning. Finally, if you enjoy dry wit, she is an artist, especially in skewering the secular attitudes of our modern culture towards dying. This is a compassionate and engaging evaluation of the way we now die alone.

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