Sherwin Nuland, the Yale surgeon whose most well known book suggested that "the good death" was something only a lucky few could achieve, died Monday at his home in Connecticut. He was 83.
Ivan Oransky, a doctor, journalist, and the global editorial director of MedPage Today, wrote on his Facebook page that Nuland was "a role model for physician-journalists and others writing about medicine." The physician-writer Atul Gawande tweeted, "The passing of Shep Nuland is a terrible blow. One of my heroes. How We Die was a landmark."
In How We Die, Nuland "pointed the finger at himself," telling the story of how he had persuaded his brother, Harvey, who died of colon cancer, to try an aggressive treatment "with no reasonable chance of success," The New York Times reports in its obit.
Nuland's books include How We Die: Reflections on Life's Final Chapter, The Art of Aging: A Doctor's Prescription for Well-Being, and How We Live.
-Paul Raeburn
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