TOW #11: The Art Of Dying

       Written as an editorial in The Guardian, the emotionally charged article, "The Art of Dying", takes a unique look into the work of famous physician, neurologist, and best selling author Oliver Sacks, a man who successfully revolutionized the way scientific case studies were told. Following the announcement of Dr.Sacks' terminal cancer, the author describes, in much detail, the emotions of finding out the misfortune of such an influential man while simultaneously exploring the lasting legacies of his life (and death) on the science community. The author of the article, Ranjana Srivastava, does this most effectively through the use of many difference anecdotes, describing her own time as a physician and how Sacks had inspired her in her work. This use of these anecdotes serve to bring an emotional feel to the writing and convince the audience, assuredly other fans of Sack's work, of the very thing that sacks himself believes -- that his death should be seen as a way to remember his accomplishments and that there truly is value in embracing our mortality.
        Like much of its body, the article begins with an anecdote. The author tells of her feeling when it was first announced that Dr. Oliver Sacks, her idol, had been diagnosed with metastatic melanoma, discussing the immediate distress that she felt as a "stab through the heart" (3). She is recalls "a former patient who came into the hospital dying of liver failure and metastatic bowel cancer" (5) and begins to tell of the struggle she felt to break the news of her terminal condition. It was at this point that the work from Oliver Sacks had inspired her most, and taught her how to treat people, not just conditions. In a similar fashion, it was the words from Sacks himself who was able to bring her comfort, "like the genial, grandfather-figure he is, he reassured us, oncologist and all, that he still felt intensely alive" (5).  Srivastava ends her article with similar message, exploring the numerous works done by Sacks and expressing the extreme gratitude she felt toward him. She believes, as many still do, that Sacks did what other biological scientists were afraid to do. He taught what it meant to be human and frail.