Dr. Ira Byock was recently interviewed by Krista Tippett in an On Being episode called “Contemplating Mortality.” You can read the transcript or listen to the interview online.
When I was a graduate student at Harvard Divinity School, I had the opportunity to do a summer field education placement at the Missoula Demonstration Project, a community-based organization in Montana that Dr. Byock co-founded. During that summer, I learned about the power of educating people about end of life care at the community level. This interview offers many of Dr. Byock’s reflections on how to die well, as well as stories of what patients and families have taught him.