What do you think?
Rate this book
Doctor, Will You Pray for Me?: Medicine, Chaplains, and Healing the Whole Person
The modern world faces religious, spiritual and existential quandaries, as new technologies redefine the beginnings and ends of life. Excruciating choices arise about when to turn off the machines - whether and when we should "play God." The COVID-19 pandemic made these dilemmas ever more acute. Increasingly, however, public discourse on religion and spirituality is polarized, with evangelicals on one side and vehement atheists on the other.
Psychiatrist and bioethicist Robert Klitzman explores how patients and families struggle to make sense of serious disease and threats of death and other medical crises, seeking hope, purpose and larger connections beyond themselves. Physicians and other clinical staff are frequently uncomfortable with these issues, and chaplains have been filling the void, developing valuable approaches and insights. Most Americans will die in hospitals or nursing homes, and face existential and spiritual quandaries. Many of their prior religious and spiritual beliefs will fall short, and chaplains will often be the ones to assist, partly by reframing narratives and understandings of illness and spirituality. Yet people often know little, if anything, about these professionals. Klitzman presents stories about the spiritual lives of patients and explores the role of chaplains - who they are, what they do and the challenges they face.
Drawing on in-depth interviews and the author's personal experiences, Doctor, Will You Pray for Me? provides vital information that can assist in medical care decisions. Robert Klitzman argues that a better understanding of the relationship between these realms will enable more holistic and humane treatment of patients.
Psychiatrist and bioethicist Robert Klitzman explores how patients and families struggle to make sense of serious disease and threats of death and other medical crises, seeking hope, purpose and larger connections beyond themselves. Physicians and other clinical staff are frequently uncomfortable with these issues, and chaplains have been filling the void, developing valuable approaches and insights. Most Americans will die in hospitals or nursing homes, and face existential and spiritual quandaries. Many of their prior religious and spiritual beliefs will fall short, and chaplains will often be the ones to assist, partly by reframing narratives and understandings of illness and spirituality. Yet people often know little, if anything, about these professionals. Klitzman presents stories about the spiritual lives of patients and explores the role of chaplains - who they are, what they do and the challenges they face.
Drawing on in-depth interviews and the author's personal experiences, Doctor, Will You Pray for Me? provides vital information that can assist in medical care decisions. Robert Klitzman argues that a better understanding of the relationship between these realms will enable more holistic and humane treatment of patients.
324 pages, Hardcover
Published September 9, 2024
10 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 15, 2024
Excellent book!! A must read!! Order today. You won’t be disappointed!!!!
September 16, 2024
Interesting and insightful. I enjoyed reading this book, and so will you! Fascinating subject.
January 30, 2025
Such a significant book. Most people (including physicians) have no idea what chaplains do or might do for patients facing serious illness and death--let alone understand HOW they do their work.
From Chapter 8: The most important moment in our lives...
"Frequently, when facing the imminent prospect of death, patients despair and benefit from exploring their feelings and fears, engaging in positive thinking, and finding or constructing meaning and purpose in their lives to overcome negative thoughts. “Thinking positively” may sound simple, but getting patients to do it can prove arduous." [examples follow]
And in the book's first chapter, Dr Klitzman's account of his personal experience with his sister's death in the NYC 9/11 tragedy is so vivid it takes your breath away. He illuminates beautifully how the mind and the body work together in ways we don't begin to understand well.
From Chapter 8: The most important moment in our lives...
"Frequently, when facing the imminent prospect of death, patients despair and benefit from exploring their feelings and fears, engaging in positive thinking, and finding or constructing meaning and purpose in their lives to overcome negative thoughts. “Thinking positively” may sound simple, but getting patients to do it can prove arduous." [examples follow]
And in the book's first chapter, Dr Klitzman's account of his personal experience with his sister's death in the NYC 9/11 tragedy is so vivid it takes your breath away. He illuminates beautifully how the mind and the body work together in ways we don't begin to understand well.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews