Understandably, no topic is more fraught with denial, anxiety, and avoidance than that of considering one’s mortality. Much of the work on the “good death” has focused on end-of-life or palliative care. For the healthy, it may be considered macabre to contemplate their mortality; it may seem fatalistic, negative, and something that pulls one away from the present joy of living today. Yet, it can also remind us of the inevitable and consider how we want to spend today as well as whatever time we have left.

A great deal has been written in the psychological literature about successful living. Successful living seems more under one’s control than successful dying. For most, the last day of one’s life is unknown, and how and where it may happen cannot always be dictated. Meier and colleagues (2016), in their examination of qualitative and quantitative peer-reviewed studies (U.S. and globally), described perspectives from the patient and the family. Meier et al., called for public dialogue about successful dying. Their findings may be instructive and meaningful to a broad range of people, even those who are not confronting a terminal illness.

Dying individuals and their families identified preferences for the dying process (i.e., where one died, who was present, how, and when). Pain-free status and emotional well-being (dying at peace) were among the top themes. The dying individual tended to identify religiosity/spirituality as a theme for "the good death"........

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