The Dying Matters Coalition was set up by the National Council for Palliative Care in 2009, with the aim of changing attitudes and behaviour towards dying. Based on the belief that people would rather write about dying than talk about it, the Coalition launched a creative writing competition, ‘Final Chapters’, and some of the pieces are included in this book. The result is a moving collection of stories and poems, which reveal the wide range of emotions surrounding death and end-of-life care. Written from multiple perspectives, the reader is drawn into the many different ways of being, which this subject reveals.

A book like this could be in danger of being a very mournful collection of sad tales. On the contrary, this book is alive with a whole range of feeling. The pieces are skilfully selected to represent the array of human emotion and experience related to the end of life. There are perspectives from service users, health professionals and carers. Some centre on the acute pain of the loss of a loved one: Sarah Bakewell sets an incredibly authentic scene and the reader might feel like they are in the room in her story, ‘Chubby Little Cheeks’, which describes the pain felt on the death of a baby. On a similar theme, the sadness seems real in the poem, ‘The Milkman Cried’, by Josephine Howard. The frustration is palpable in the ‘recipe’, ‘Enhancing Dementia’, by Janet Willoughby, written from a nursing perspective as a reflection on care for the vulnerable elderly population. ‘A Dose of Reality’ by Caroline Sposto raises interesting questions about society's attitude to denial on facing a terminal prognosis. This story paints a vivid picture of the need of health professionals to convey the truth of a diagnosis, and the subsequent painful fallout. The suspense of ‘Polly Dolly’ by Maureen Gallagher takes the reader on an emotional rollercoaster, exploring the difficult decisions that have to be made when a relative becomes unwell, and the potential need for nursing home care. This book is a compelling read and each piece stands alone as an insightful opportunity to consider the issues and emotion surrounding death and end-of-life care. The pieces are written in such a way that the reader cannot fail to be moved whilst at the same time comforted by their authenticity.

The purpose of this text is to encourage public discussion about death and dying and to encourage the sharing of wishes with friends and relatives. However, the relevance of this work reaches far beyond that. This text would be beneficial to any health-care professional to not only understand more about those in their care but also learn more about themselves. The pieces remind us of our own mortality and how others’ feelings and wishes might differ from our own.

This book could be useful to educators when exploring attitudes and values towards death and end-of-life care in the classroom. Listening to the stories of others helps us understand the human aspects of care and reminds us that health-care practice is more than a technological process. Listening reinforces the need for relational not merely transactional care provision and raises our sensitivity to the needs of others, making this work a valuable asset to health education. Hearing these pieces gives students the opportunity to rehearse their reactions and feelings towards dying and end-of-life care in a safe environment, before being exposed to the reality of practice. This work could encourage debate and discussion about end-of-life care provision and how this can be made more meaningful by listening to the emotions and desires of those who are at the centre of it. The power of the pieces has the potential to encourage health-care students to become part of the experiences, rather than being bystanders. This could support the development of analytical and decision-making skills around this subject.

In summary, this collection is a moving and powerful contribution to the discussion around dying and end-of-life care. It has the potential to encourage conversation with friends and family about our own wishes and choices to ensure that we die well, and not leave those closest to us in confusion and uncertainty. However, it also offers a creative way for educators to encourage health-care students to discuss and debate dying and end-of-life care, as part of their personal and professional development.