Worried about dying? Or about someone close to you dying? How are you going to cope? What thoughts are going to pass through your mind? Will you be able to manage the last weeks or months without breaking down? How well will you stand up to the pain? Will there be pain?

Mainly based on interviews with surviving family members of more than twenty of his close friends who have recently died, the author, a doctor who has a long-standing interest in terminal illness, aims to provide information leading to a better quality of life during the time leading up to death. Separate chapters deal with the sorts of questions people ask themselves at the end of life, the illnesses that may end life and the helping social and health services..

In addition, he discusses how best to communicate with health professionals and with other family members and friends. He considers terminal illness in people with dementia as well as the degree to which the timing of death can be controlled. Relevant practical information (about, for example, disposing of one’s possessions, making a will, registering powers of attorney, making suggestions for one’s own funeral and writing a memoir), is provided. Throughout the emphasis is on ‘going gentle’ by avoiding unnecessary distress while acknowledging the inevitable pain that loss of life entails both for the person who is dying and for their nearest and dearest.