Facing the End of Life with Courage: Photographs from “A Good Death”

(credit: cbsnews.com)

 What is a good death, and why don’t we hear about more of them? For many, to die well means to die comfortably, often at home, surrounded by family and friends. According to a recent article from CBS, 70% of Americans would rather die at home, but only 1 in 4 actually do. As I wrote in last week’s Something Special, this discrepancy between our desires and our realities may be explained by the medical industry’s obsession with prolonging a patient’s life, no matter the financial or emotional cost. Doctors are taught to value the person’s physiology over the whole person, even when treating an illness only delays, often painfully, the patient’s end of life.

Joshua Bright’s “A Good Death” depicts the sacredness, the tenderness and the peacefulness of New Yorker John R. Hawkins’s end of life. Available through the New York Times, this photograph series documents the powerful, deeply human moments as the 78 year old man awaits his death from lung disease. Provided for by his friend of 25 years, Robert Chodo Campbell, and surrounded by the comforts of his life, such as classical music, flowers, cats and his memoir in progress, Hawkins inspires us to discover our own paths to a good death.

Of course, Campbell reminds us that the experience wasn’t easy. Rather, the photos show us a man who makes the brave decision to turned away from painful treatment and truly lived the rest of his life. Honesty and warmth imbued the entire process. Tears and laughter streamed throughout. “John, I think you’re very close,” said Campbell a few days before John’s death. “Yeah, I am,” he replied.

But enough with words—the photographs speak for themselves:

Robert Campbell and John Hawkins (credit: nytimes.com)

(credit: joshuabright.see.me)

(credit: joshuabright.see.me)

(credit: joshuabright.see.me)

More from Something Special:

• Till Death Do Us Part: Elderly Couple Leave Life Together
• The Power of Grief: Widow Stays by Spouse’s Side after his Death
• 10 Facts About Hospice Care You May Not Know