Systems of Care and Experience for Dying Well

Death and dying are events that all beings will share. Everyone is either anticipating or experiencing them. While often associated with notions of loss, fear, pain, and suffering, the reality of death and dying is more complex. Growth, hope, connection, and even wellbeing itself can co-exist with death and dying and may even be fostered. Within this chapter, various potentially positive aspects of death and dying arising within philosophy, literature, and cultural, religious, and care traditions will be explored, challenging the notion of a uniform negativity within responses to death and dying. The experience of mortality and wellbeing arise from the interplay of myriad dynamic, living systems, suggesting how wellbeing and death and dying can relate and coexist. These ideas have implications for understanding and enhancing care provision to support wellbeing within dying and normalise the possibility of this experience.