And a Time to Die

Introduction  1

PART I
THE PREDICAMENT: DEATH BECOMES A NEW KIND OF PROBLEM  21

1. Death and Hospital Culture
2. Death in Life: The "Person" and the Experience of Dying

PART II
THE HOSPITAL SYSTEM: TIME AND THE POWER OF THE PATHWAY  85

3. Transforming Time: From Deathwatch to Billable Treatments  89
4. Moving Things Along  95
  I. The Heroic Intervention Pathway  104
  II. The Paradox of Resuscitation: Approach/Avoidance on the Heroic Pathway  116
  III. The Revolving Door Pathway  131
5. Waiting  147
  I. Obstructing the Order of Things  152
  II. "Let's Wait and See": The Indeterminate Condition of Old Age  177
  III. Agreement and Anticipation: Watchful Waiting  190

PART III
THE POLITICS AND RHETORIC OF THE PATIENT'S CONDITION:   "SUFFERING," "DIGNITY," AND "THE QUALITY OF LIFE"  203

6. Death by Design  207
7. Life Support  236
8. Hidden Places: The Zone of Indistinction as a Way of Life  273
  I. The Specialized Unit: Routines Without Pathways, Life with No End  275
  II. The Shadow Side of "Death with Dignity"
9. Culture in the Making

Appendix A. About the Research
Appendix B. A Note on Diversity
Notes
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Credits
Index