Fragments on the Deathwatch

Keeping vigil over the dying is an essential human practice with long cultural traditions and profound psychological benefits. Yet, as legal scholar Louise Harmon shows, the institutions of modern life-from hospitals to courtrooms-intrude on the practice. In this humane and lyrical book, Harmon looks at literature, philosophy, history, and autobiography as she delicately probes the taboos around discussion of death. She asks whether the law can recognize the needs of families and loved ones a…