“Right, Before I Die” Portrays Inner Life of Hospice Patients

“René”
(Credit: rightbeforeidie.com/rbid.html)

Credit: rightbeforeidie.com/rbid.html

In 2012, American artist Andrew George contacted the Medical Director of Palliative Care at Providence Holy Cross Medical Centre in Los Angeles, California. George proposed the project that, two years later, became the photo essay “Right, Before I Die.” This project is the culmination of George’s conversations with dying patients, which included having their photo portrait taken and an invitation to write down anything they wanted the world to know about their life and experiences. The word play in the title says it all: Through their words and the look in their eyes, we as spectators to our own future come to understand the true value and preciousness of life.

“Right, Before I Die” installed for public viewing
(Credit: rightbeforeidie.com)

While it is uncomfortable and difficult to articulate why so many of us avoid showing up in hospices and palliative care wards — even when we have personal ties to someone there — it is possible through the lens of “Right, Before I Die” to glimpse what draws us in, despite our fears. Looking into the faces of George’s subjects, we are confronted with our own raw authenticity. There is no apology or artifice here, just an honest look at what really matters — and what doesn’t — when the experiences of a life are gathered and tallied in order of time well spent. In a foreword to this project, Alain de Botton wrote, “The dying are the great appreciators: They notice the value of the sunshine on a spring afternoon, a few minutes with a grandchild, another breath…And they know what spoilt ingrates we are, not stopping to register the wonder of every passing minute. They were once like us, of course. They wasted decades, but now they are in a position to know of their folly and warn us of our own. “Or”, as “Abel” said, “You have a one way ticket, don’t waste it.”

“Abel”
(Credit: rightbeforeidie.com/rbid.html)

It is this call to life that can be so threatening to one’s sense of self. It is easy to live with your eyes closed, especially if you live in a wealthy country with easy access to physical comfort, emotional numbing, and distractions of every kind. While the dying don’t transform overnight into sages and wizards with mysterious knowledge — while they are just as human and confused as the rest of us — they have the benefit of reflecting upon the fullness and truth of their lives. People who do not incorporate this reflection process into their daily experience may find these moments of insight painful. No wonder so many voices take on a hushed quality when speaking of death.

“Irene” (Credit: rightbeforeidie.com/rbid.html)

A written reflection by “Irene”
(Credit: rightbeforeidie.com/rbid.html)

And yet, the message of “Right, Before I Die” is ultimately optimistic in the sense that it gives the public the benefit of witnessing someone’s dying time so that the process won’t be foreign when it comes for each of us. Until very recently in human history, it was common for children to be exposed to the death of family and community members. Death wasn’t a failure to live, nor was it something to be feared. People at every stage of life had the opportunity to be with someone who was dying, to witness what is it like, and to appreciate their own lives more as a result. Thanks to Andrew George, the public now has a small taste of what that universal experience is and how we can approach our lives differently because of it.

A written reflection by “René”
(Credit: rightbeforeidie.com/rbid.html)