Richard P. McQuellon, Ph.D. is Professor of Medicine, Comprehensive Cancer Center of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.
Michael A. Cowan, Ph.D. is Assistant to the President, Loyola University New Orleans, and Executive Director of Common Good, a network of civic organizations working to rebuild and transform post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans.

Acknowledgments
Prologue
Introduction
Part I. The Many Meanings of Mortal Time
Mortal Time: How Long Does it Last?
The Multiple Meanings of Mortal Time
Shattered Assumptions
Creating Meaning
Coping Styles
What to Expect in Mortal Time
The Challenge and the Invitation of Mortal Time
A Question of Balance
The Prospect of Despair
Finding Meaning
Living in Mortal Time
Sources of Hope
Nevertheless, There Is Meaning
Part II. Hope from Conversation
Hope for the Day
Avoiding Gloom
False Hope
Conversation
Healing Conversation: Basic Elements
Talking In and About Mortal Time
Conversation Partners
Empathy
Becoming Properly Empathetic
Receiving Empathy
Honesty: What Can I Say?
The Right Words
Acknowledging Fear
Everyday Conversation with Friends
Platitudes: Let's Hope for the Best and Prepare for the Worst
You first!
The Humane use of Words: Effective Phrases in Mortal Time
How Much Time Do I Have?
Appreciating Everyday Chatter
Denial?
Healthy Conversation about Dying
Practical Conversation
Part III. For Those Left Behind
Being a Companion in Mortal Time
Kind Companions
The Costs and Risks of Companionship
The Nine Personal Virtues Most Needed in Mortal Time
Consideration and Disciplined Spontaneity
Censored Conversation vs. Active Listening
Closing: A Word to Caregivers
Resilience and Absorbing Suffering
Empathy Shift
Sharing
Mending
The Art of Conversation through Serious Illness
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Every day, thousands of people receive a diagnosis of serious, life-threatening illness, and their families and friends suddenly become caregivers. Despite the best of intentions it is not always easy to communicate well under these circumstances, or find deep empathy for something one has never before experienced. When is it best to speak, and when to be silent? How can someone provide real comfort, and how can relationships with loved ones facing serious illness be enhanced in this most difficult time?
This book is about how to be an encouraging caregiver and friend under the most difficult circumstances, when the possibility of death is all too real The authors believe that open dialogue must not be avoided until the last minute when opportunities will be limited, but that caregivers and loved ones can embrace this time, mortal time, honestly as a way to sensitively and compassionately engage with those for whom a central fact of life is realized--that all of our lives are time-limited.
In The Art of Conversation Through Serious Illness, the authors consider how to best listen to and speak with one facing life-threatening illness, with lessons on being a primary conversation partner, becoming properly empathic and receiving empathy, maintaining everyday conversation, using platitudes appropriately, understanding healthy denial, and talking about dying. Offering bedside guidance usually only available to professionals and peppered with insightful anecdotes from the authors' own experiences, this gentle, succinct book is appropriate for anyone going through this uniquely difficult yet universal life experience.