When I die
Subtitle: lessons from the death zone
By: Philip Gould ; edited by Keith Blackmore
Contributors: Blackmore, Keith
Publisher: Little, Brown
Published: 2012
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 228
ISBN-13: 9781408703984
Subjects: Death and burial; Esophagus; Biography; Cancer; Patients; Politicians; Death; Psychological aspects; Terminally ill; Psychology
Description: On 29 January 2008 Philip Gould was told he had cancer. He was stoical, and set about his treatment, determined to fight his illness. In the face of difficult decisions he sought always to understand the disease and the various medical options open to him, supported by his wife Gail and their two daughters, Georgia and Grace. In 2010, after two hard years of chemotherapy and surgery, the tests came up clear - Philip appeared to have won the battle. But his work as a key strategist for the Labour party took its toll, and feeling ill six months later, he insisted on one extra, precautionary test, which told him that the cancer had returned. Thus began Philip's long, painful but ultimately optimistic journey towards death, during which time he began to appreciate and make sense of his life, his work and his relationships in a way he had never thought possible. He realized something that he had never heard articulated before: death need not be only negative or painful, it can be life-affirming and revelatory. Written during the last few months of his life, When I Die describes the journey Philip took with his illness, leaving to us what he called his lessons from the death zone.
Table of contents: title: Foreword / Keith Blackmore; title: The glory of the ride; title: The courage of the small; title: A very small boat; title: The bottom of a murky sea; title: The unfinished life; title: The cancer odyssey; title: The tall black cloud; title: The death zone; title: Going to my grave; title: Four days left to change the world / Georgia Gould; title: My Dad / Grace Gould; title: Postscript/ Gail Rebuck; title: Letter to a friend / Alastair Campbell; title: A short introduction to oesophageal /gastro-oesophageal cancers; title: Obituary: The Times.