Chapter 9 "Knowing When Death Will Occur" Summary and Analysis

Chapter 9 concludes the second of three major divisions within the text—Part II - Nearing Death Awareness: What I Am Experiencing. The chapter presents the final major aspect of Nearing Death Awareness—often, dying people seem to know when their death will occur. This knowledge frequently is quite specific. For example, one biographical anecdote relates a young man accurately noting the very day and hour of his death. When his death occurred, it was from an undetected complication, and not from his cancer. The chapter also notes that imminent death is frequently perceived also by family members who note some sort of change without being able to accurately describe it—often this information is conveyed as only "'Something seems different'" (p. 114). Medical practitioners should always take...