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Michael Doring Connelly
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“A convincing case for reimagining cultural conceptions of death.”
―Publishers Weekly
Death is a universal fact of life. Yet, it’s a subject we largely avoid thinking and talking about—especially when facing a terminal illness or old age, whether a loved one’s or your own.
In THE JOURNEY’S END: An Investigation into Death and Dying in Modern America (Rowman & Littlefield; April 2023; $34.00 Hardcover; ISBN: 9781538175491), author and prominent healthcare leader Michael Doring Connelly sets out to change the standard approach to end-of-life care while also advocating for a shift in attitude.
While acknowledging the philosophical boons of accepting death as a natural process—closure, freedom, and a sense of purpose among them—THE JOURNEY’S END focuses on the practical benefits of facing death as a reality rather than trying to medicalize it. As this book shows, when the people stop fighting death with invasive procedures and prescription drugs, dying becomes a shared, caring family experience rather than a cold, clinical, and medical ordeal. By reclaiming ownership of the process of dying with support from health care professionals, individuals and family members will not only gain peace of mind but also be liberated from the financial cost and emotional stress of excessive, and often pointless, clinical intervention.
Emphasizing the importance of knowledge and communication, THE JOURNEY’S END aims to raise awareness of the key issues driving the dysfunction of US healthcare, with attention to how the elderly bear the brunt, and to help everyone develop “death literacy.”
In the book, you’ll learn:
How medical specialization and technological advances have made the process of dying more troublesome—and how the system discourages, threatens, and penalizes healthcare professionals who realize that doing everything possible to prolong life is wasteful and harmful.
Why health policies routinely pay for futile attempts to avoid death but refuse to cover effective, needed, and much less expensive social support services—and steps for reform, including eliminating prescription drug ads targeting the elderly that offer false hope for cures and taxing healthcare benefits to decrease demand for high-cost treatments.
Why everyone in the ranks of senior citizens and anyone grappling with a grave disease needs to clearly express their wishes for dying—with details on feeding tubes, ventilators, and more—and document their preferences in a cell phone video, if not an official advance directive.
Why improving end-of-life care comes with trade-offs, both economic and personal, and hard yet essential choices for individuals, families, and our nation, from our approach to funding Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security to asking ourselves: Do we really want to live longer? Or might we aspire instead to focus on a more meaningful life?
“In the United States, we believe that death is an option—and have foolishly poured untold resources, time, and energy into futile attempts at preventing death,” observes David B. Nash, MD, MBA, in his Foreword. “Sadly, this has resulted in a terrible set of circumstances. Fortunately, The Journey’s End is the best single treatise on understanding this conundrum I have ever read. It offers a roadmap for our society to provide better and more humane care at the end of life.”
Michael Doring Connelly served as CEO of Mercy Health, one of the nation’s largest health systems, from 1994 to 2017. He previously served as an executive with the Daughters of Charity National Health System (now the Ascension Health System) and has experience with healthcare systems in Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, and Spain. He has published numerous articles in various healthcare journals and served as the chair of prominent organizations, including Catholic Charities USA. He lives on Johns Island, South Carolina. The book is available at Indigo Books in Freshfields.
