Intensive care units have changed - and not always for the better. In this provocative and empathetic book, medical researcher and ICU doctor Samuel Morris Brown uses a
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stories from his clinical practice to outline a new way of thinking about life-threatening illness. Brown's approach acknowledges the conflicting emotions we have when we talk about the possibility of death and proposes strategies by which patients, their families and clinicians can better respond to human needs before, during and after serious illness. Arguing that any solution to the inhumanity of intensive care must be based on new research into how people process information and make choices, Brown imagines a truly humane ICU.