The Comfort of People

Daniel Miller (University College London, UK)

$32.95

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Polity Press
29 September 2017

Society & Social Sciences; Sociology: death & dying; Anthropology; Medical sociology; Terminal care nursing

At the end of life, our comfort lies mainly in relationships.

In this book, Daniel Miller, one of the world's leading anthropologists, examines the social worlds of people suffering from terminal or long-term illness. Threading together a series of personal stories, based on interviews conducted with patients of an English hospice, Miller draws out the implications of these narratives for our understanding of community, friendship, and kinship, but also loneliness and isolation.

This is a book about people's lives, not their deaths: about the hospice patients rather than the hospice. It focuses on the comfort given by friends, carers and relatives through both face-to-face relations and, increasingly, online communication. Miller asks whether the loneliness and isolation he uncovers is the result of a decline of English patterns of socialising, or their continuation.

This moving and deeply humane book combines warmth and sharp observation with anthropological insight and practical suggestions for the use of media by the hospice. It will be of interest not only to students and scholars of anthropology, sociology, social policy and media and cultural studies, but also to healthcare professionals and, indeed, to anyone who would like to know more about the role of relationships in the final stage of our lives.

By: Daniel Miller (University College London UK)
Imprint: Polity Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 196mm, Width: 130mm, Spine: 20mm
Weight: 272g
ISBN: 9781509524327
ISBN 10: 1509524320
Pages: 236
Publication Date: 29 September 2017
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Acknowledgments Foreword Introduction Story 1) Sarah Story 2) Champneys for the Terminal Story 3) The Curse Of Confidentiality Story 4) Parkinson s Story 5) Four Friends Story 6) Betty and Gloria Story 7) Tom, Dick and Robin Rigby Story 8) My Fair Lady Story 9) Maypole Story 10) Control Centre Story 11) Our Forum Story 12) Depression Story 13) Community Story 14) Bluebells Story 15) The Intimacy Of Strangers Story 16) The Silent Community Story 17) In This Room Story 18) Matt Conclusions Recommendations for Hospice Use of New Media Bibliography

Daniel Miller is Professor of Anthropology at University College London.

Reviews for The Comfort of People

The Comfort of People reveals, in both technicolour and shades of grey, the ordinariness, the drama, the simplicity and the complexity of networks as people live out lives in the shadow of a serious diagnosis... These stories need to be read by all those working with dying people. Dr Ros Taylor, Clinical Director, Hospice UK