Born at the end of World War One into a prosperous London family, Cicely Saunders struggled at school before gaining entry to Oxford University to read Politics, Philosophy and Economics. As World War Two gained momentum, she quit academic study to train as a nurse, thereby igniting her lifelong interest in caring for others. Following a back injury, she became a medical social worker, and then in her late 30s, qualified as a physician. By now her focus was on a hugely neglected area of modern health services: the care of the dying. When she opened the world's first modern hospice in 1967 a quiet revolution got underway. Education, research, and clinical practice were combined in a model of 'total care' for terminally ill patients and their families that quickly had a massive impact.
In Cicely Saunders: A Life and Legacy, David Clark draws on interviews, correspondence, and the publications of Cicely Saunders to tell the remarkable story of how she pursued her goals through the complexity of her personal life, the skepticism of others, and the pervasive influence of her religious faith. When she died in 2005, her legacy was firmly established in the growing field of hospice and palliative care, which had now gained global recognition.
Industry Reviews
"This is a wonderful book that has been clearly well-considered, researched and compiled ... A holistic reflection of an inspirational, aspirational woman who valued humanity and total individualised care." -- BMA reviewing panel, BMA Medical Book Awards 2019
"This book is a very easy read and would be of interest to those with a background in Palliative Care or anyone who enjoys reading biographies." -- Karen Gower, CPCRE Centre Online
"Clark's painstaking research is no starry-eyed idealisation of the woman who changed the world. He provides a precise and well-argued account of this very human lady." -- Colin Murray Parkes, Bereavement Care
"Clark's Cicely Saunders is a mature and successful biography that rings true and is likely to become the definitive account of a remarkable doctor." -- David Misselbrook, British Society for the History of Medicine
"David Clark's ... work is a significant addition to a sparse biographic literature on Dame Cicely. ... Readers are immediately struck by the painstaking and thorough research that has gone into this book. It is a meticulous work of academic distinction." -- Revd Dr Nick Goulding, Church Times
"Magisterial and magnificent" -- Dr Robert Twycross DM FRCP, Emeritus Clinical Reader in Palliative Medicine, Oxford University
"The significance of David Clark's biography is that is describes and explains how an extraordinary woman changed the world. Professionals know that she did, but we have not previously quite known how, and how who she was, warts and all, was connected to the achievement." -- Dame Barbara Monroe, DBE, DSc, BPhil, BA Special Commissioner, Royal Hospital Chelsea, Journal of Palliative Medicine
"Her biography is the culmination of years of work by Dumfries-based Professor David Clark of the University of Glasgow, a professor of medical sociology who specialises in end-of-life studies ... It draws on interviews, correspondence, and the publications of Saunders, paying tribute to a remarkable lady." -- Dumfries and Galloway Life
"His comprehensive work is a significant addition to a sparse biographic literature on Dame Cicely ... It is a meticulous work of academic distinction." -- Revd. Dr. Nick Goulding, Church Times
"The book will be of direct interest to a wide range of those within the palliative care community as well as more general readers sympathetic to Saunders' emphasis on the holistic care of the whole person. Moreover, with his blend of historiography and sociology, Clark also appeals to medical humanities scholars and, through his initial enquiries into some of Saunders' literary influences such as C.S Lewis or Julian of Norwich, opens the door to further
research in this area." -- Joe Wood, BMJ Medical Humanities
This biography is well documented, almost like a journal article, if not a movie. Some black-and-white pictures ... allow readers to connect more directly with Saunders in different circumstances of her life, instead of official portraits immortalizing great moments of a career. This is definitely a different biography, the illustration of a life and a cause, based on personal contact with the subject, with her fights, her disappointments, her successes and,
also, her post-factum reflection on her life." -- IAlain Touwaide, PhD (The Huntington), Doody's Review
"This book is a fitting tribute to the passion, tenacity, and intellect of a remarkable woman. First class. Fascinating. Strongly recommended." -- Roger Woodruff, IAHPC Newsletter
"Personal interviews make the latest biography of Dame Cicely Saunders a rich, fascinating read." -- Matthew Bodley, ehospice
"I now have the opportunity to understand what made Cicely Saunders human, how working with the dying helped her to live through the newly published biography written by Professor David Clark, founder of the Glasgow End of Life Studies Group." -- Dr Sheri Mila Gerson, Research Associate, End of Life Studies Group at the University of Glasgow School of Interdisciplinary Studies
