{"product_id":"dear-life-qe57-by-karen-hitchcock","title":"Dear Life; QE57 by Karen Hitchcock","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn this moving and controversial Quarterly Essay, doctor and writer Karen Hitchcock investigates the treatment of the elderly and dying through some unforgettable cases. With honesty and deep experience, she looks at end-of-life decisions, frailty and dementia, over-treatment and escalating costs.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eOurs is a society in which ageism, often disguised, threatens to turn the elderly into a “burden” – difficult, hopeless, expensive and homogenous. While we rightly seek to curb treatment when it is futile, harmful or against a patient’s wishes, this can sometimes lead to limits on care that suit the system rather than the person. Doctors may declare a situation hopeless when it may not be so.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe must plan for a future when more of us will be old, Hitchcock argues, with the aim of making that time better, not shorter. And we must change our institutions and society to meet the needs of an ageing population. \u003cem\u003eDear Life\u003c\/em\u003e is a landmark essay by one of Australia’s most powerful writers.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCorrespondence discussing Quarterly Essay 57, \u003cem\u003eDear Life\u003c\/em\u003e:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cul\u003e\r\n\t\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.quarterlyessay.com.au\/correspondence\/correspondence-inga-clendinnen\"\u003eInga Clendinnen\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\t\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.quarterlyessay.com.au\/correspondence\/correspondence-jack-kirszenblat\"\u003eJack Kirszenblat\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\t\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.quarterlyessay.com.au\/correspondence\/correspondence-peter-martin\"\u003ePeter Martin\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\r\n","brand":"QE","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44596808024199,"sku":"9781863957168-POD-QE","price":29.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0313\/7211\/6103\/products\/qe57_0_52068a05-edb5-4ab4-8c49-9f07fcba3f77.jpg?v=1625796717","url":"https:\/\/shop.schwartzbooks.com.au\/products\/dear-life-qe57-by-karen-hitchcock","provider":"Schwartz Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}