This book is specific to a debate of some decades ago. Still it brings an important perspectives that are not just relevant to euthanasia. Most of the book covers the process of dying and the complexity of it. Death is something that we typically start by denying.

The book [b:On Death and Dying|781844|On Death and Dying|Elisabeth Kübler-Ross|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1349013156s/781844.jpg|6253] defines five emotional stages that patients tend to go through. (Page 161 - the start of chapter 7)
1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance

Dr. Peck finds a beauty in those who make it to stage 4 before passing away. (Page 163) That is the main thing that I got out of the book, and it is related to his definition of spiritual and secular levels which I also found quite interesting.

The Stages of Religious or Spiritual Development (Page 124)
As described more fully in: [b:The Different Drum: Community Making and Peace|4443|The Different Drum Community Making and Peace|M. Scott Peck|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388377977s/4443.jpg|8094] and somewhat in: [b:Further Along the Road Less Traveled: The Unending Journey Towards Spiritual Growth|7371|Further Along the Road Less Traveled The Unending Journey Towards Spiritual Growth|M. Scott Peck|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1437877099s/7371.jpg|10494] and [b:The Road Less Traveled and Beyond: Spiritual Growth in an Age of Anxiety|4442|The Road Less Traveled and Beyond Spiritual Growth in an Age of Anxiety|M. Scott Peck|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1398393380s/4442.jpg|6157144]
1. Chaotic or antisocial: people may appear either religious or secular , but their belief system is profoundly superficial.
2. Formal, Institutional: the letter of the law - religious fundamentalists - where most religious people are found.
3. Skeptic, Individual: Where most secularists are situated. Typically scientific-minded, rational, moral, humane, mostly materialistic, not interested in things that can’t be proved.
4. Mystical, Communal: Rational, but do not make a fetish of rationalism. They have begun to doubt their own doubts. They feel deeply connected to an unseen order of things, although they cannot fully define it. They are comfortable with the mystery of the sacred.

Chapter 6: defines the soul and factors that influence the quality of the person; that we are not accidents; we have a purpose;

“But no one, in my opinion — not Dickens, not Shakespeare, not Dostoyevsky — has ever succeeded in capturing a soul. Great caricatures, yes … so great they don't even seem like caricatures. But scratch the pages and don still don’t come up with a real soul.” (Page 147)

But for the purpose of this book I will focus on the choice to learn. Specifically to learn wisdom.” (Page 151)

And here is an interesting sentence after a paragraph about our changing knowledge about the interior of the atom: “Atoms have begun to look very much like spirits.” (Page 156)

There is a reason to not hasten through death: ”Repeatedly I have used a phrase that is not in general parlance: ‘the work of depression.’” (Page 172)

“I believe that most successful long-term marriages go through these stages of death and dying in the same order that Kübler-Ross outlined. (Page 177)

And the rest of the book gets more into the Euthanasia debate.

Contents
Part 1: From Confusion to Definition
1. Pulling the Plug
2. Physical Pain
3. Emotional Pain
4. Murder, Suicide, and Natural Death
Part 2: An Underlying Simplicity: Spiritual Perspectives
5. Secularism
6. The Creatureliness of Humans
7. The Learning of Dying
8. Euthanasia: A Typical Case
Part 3: Into the Future: Societal Considerations
9. Assisted Suicide
10. The Hope of the Euthanasia Debate

The closing paragraph of the book includes these words:
"The truly big question is ... whether we want a society that encourages the soul and its development." ( )

The next book was M. Scott Peck’s Denial of the Soul. In this 260 page book was one that I really enjoyed. M. Scott Peck, M.D. is a psychiatrist and author. He did a wonderful job making the reader think about the topic. He spattered the book with insightful stories, personal accounts and some patient cases. This book was about the topic of dying and euthanasia. I took from his book a respect for religions, God or deity as the author of our life, the social climate during the writing of that book, and a combination of psycho-religious factors that he would consider while doing the work of depression and death. He views the soul as a spirit that can be developed and that we face selfishness or more of word arrogance. He covered Dr. Kuber-Ross’s grief/loss cycle and applied it to various people and situations. Something I noticed right away was Dr. Peck calling God a "she" throughout this book and I found that interesting. I know that he sees God as nurturing and caring and wonder if that’s why he called God a “her” but I’m not sure. He also talked a lot about ethical issues, being a physician and the Hippocratic oath and other Dr.’s that participate in assisted suicide, concepts of jurisprudence, philosophy, and religion. This book was a a wonderfully thought provoking work. He sets up a continuum in presenting issues like in a philosophy class that I loved. I’d love to talk to somebody about this book so I hope some of you have either read it or will read it and then come share your thoughts. On a 5 star rating scale (5 being the highest) I would give his book at least a 4. ( )

couldn't get into this one, only read about one fifth of it.

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