Chapter 11 "Needing Reconciliation" Summary and Analysis

Dying people develop an acute awareness that they need to be at peace with themselves and others. This desire for reconciliation is often a component of Nearing Death Awareness. Obvious and coherent requests for assistance in reconciliatory gestures are nearly always complied with. However, the dying rarely simply ask for assistance in straightforward ways. Their agitation and sometimes-strange requests are unfortunately frequently diagnosed as confusion and may be treated with sedatives. This is both unconstructive and harmful. Instead, supportive family members must attempt to understand the special but cryptic communication of the dying to realize what is truly being asked for.

The desire for reconciliation is usually focused on estranged family members. If the dying person was raised in a religious milieu but has since abandoned it as an adult, the desire for reconciliation with...