The Lost Art of Dying

For more than 500 years, the 'ars moriendi' or 'art of dying' genre of literature dominated living and dying in the West. These handbooks on the preparation for death spanned languages, religions, cultural contexts, and continents. In her new book, THE LOST ART OF DYING, Dugdale asks what it might look like to revive this forgotten wisdom. How might we learn from the past in order to move toward a future in which we live well in order to die well?

Dr. L.S. Dugdale is a primary care physician and professor at Columbia University, where she is Director of the Center for Clinical Medical Ethics. She has published widely in both the popular and academic press. Her first book, DYING IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY, provides the scholarly foundation for her most recent book, THE LOST ART OF DYING: REVIVING FORGOTTEN WISDOM.

Discussion will be facilitated by Amy Cunningham, Funeral Director and Death Educator at Green-Wood.