  urlLink Facing Up to the Inevitable, in Search of a Good Death : "Experts on end-of-life care say that my mother's death was handled wrong, all wrong. Chalk it up to ignorance back then. But 45 years later, despite a greatly enhanced understanding of what happens to a person near the end of life, little has changed in the way most people die in hospitals or nursing homes. All too often, life is prolonged in pain or discomfort, with medical interventions and instruments precluding an opportunity for loved ones to say goodbye. " 
