Dancing with Broken Bones

"Read this book. It will remind you why you became a physician." The Lancet "Moller has produced a profound literary work." -- Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life & Palliative Care "...stories of courage, faith, suffering, and neglect are interwoven in a remarkable book for anyone with an interest in end-of-life care." -- Journal of Palliative Medicine "Moller takes us through doors that we otherwise would not cross. He introduces us to people who are authentically themselves, fully alive, despite dismal circumstances. We hear their anger as well as their humor, see their suffering as well as their joy. They teach us the importance of feeling connected to others and the critical value of forgiveness, gratitude, and love at the end of life. Suffering misfortune that few of us can imagine, the people whose stories Moller tells reveal the inherent dignity and the indomitable nature of the human spirit." -- Ira Byock, MD, author of Dying Well, and co-founder of Life's End Institute: Missoula Demonstration Project "For most of us, the lives and deaths of the urban homeless remain invisible and largely unfathomable. Dr. Moller and his colleagues have had the courage to enter this world, and to even take medical students with them! In Dancing with Broken Bones, we too are invited along to witness its tragedies and its humanity. In these remarkable real-life narratives, we can contemplate what a dignified death might look like in the face of extreme poverty and homelessness. In doing so, we are invited to consider what is important in our own privileged lives and deaths, and how we should be caring for those who are far less fortunate." --Timothy E. Quill, MD, Professor of Medicine, Psychiatry and Medical Humanities, Palliative Care Program and Program for Biopsychosocial Studies, University of Rochester School of Medicine "Dr. Moller has shed light on the forgotten world of illness and dying in the urban poor. Through eloquence, grace, and wit, he makes us face what to many is too painful to contemplate - death that is painful, lonely, and unwanted. This book will serve as a landmark in the death and dying literature, forcing health professionals and society at large to work harder toward an equitable system of healthcare for the living and the dying." -- David E. Weissman, MD, Palliative Care Center, Medical College of Wisconsin "This book moved me to tears, to anger, to repeated shocks of recognition, as well as to joy and to pride at being part of a human race whose members are capable of such remarkable love and care for one another." -- Diane E. Meier, MD, Director, Center to Advance Palliative Care, and Professor, Departments of Geriatrics and Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine "The grace and dignity of humanity is pervasive and memorable in these stories of living with poverty and fatal illness; but I hope that we are also profoundly moved to relieve the tragic circumstances that poverty and inept healthcare arrangements inflicted upon the people whose stories David Moller tells." -- Joanne Lynn, MD, The Washington Home Center for Palliative Care Studies, RAND Health, and Americans for Better Care of the Dying