Every Third Thought by Robert McCrum review – how to think about death | Books | The Guardian

Is stoicism the best way to cope with the “miasma of melancholy” (Nora Ephron’s phrase) that can shroud the declining years? William Hazlitt thought so: since there has already been, for each of us, “a time when we were not”, and this “gives us no concern”, why be afraid of death? Julian Barnes saw off such arguments in his book Nothing to Be Frightened Of, as did Larkin in his poem “Aubade”.  

McCrum is more patient with those who find reasons to be cheerful. “If you have religion,” Sally Vickers (a Christian) says, “it gives the drama of death a place in the theatre of things.” As to ageing, Adam Phillips argues that “Every stage of the life cycle is interesting”, and there are “more possibilities when we are 70”.  

Denial is another coping mechanism (William Empson considered death a topic “people should be prepared to be blank upon”). It doesn’t let you off the grave but may ease your passing. When McCrum visits a friend who is dying from leukaemia, he’s troubled by his deluded talk of recovery. But he accepts that it would be cruel to disenchant him. I had a similar experience with my father. Having been told the worst (inoperable cancer, just weeks to live), and having made sure I knew it too, he chose not to discuss it again.  

“The dying have a right to their decease,” McCrum says, though in the UK the law is stacked against them. What terrifies most of us is the prospect of dependency. We had it before, as infants, but have no memory of that; this time we’ll be conscious of it, with the knowledge that our dependency will only get worse. Interventions that prolong life can also impair it; as the neurosurgeon and author Marsh says, death is often a preferable outcome. McCrum himself hopes for a quick death, in his sleep; better that than a decade of incontinence in institutional care. Yes, the will to live persists, even in those with no quality of life. But if their brains were fully functional, would they choose to go on?

Every Third Thought by Robert McCrum review – how to think about death | Books | The Guardian: