On Death, Dying and Not Dying

In June 2000 Peter Houghton, a counsellor in palliative care, was himself weeks from death due to heart disease. He had made his preparations and had said most of his goodbyes. Then he was offered the chance to participate in a clinical trial. Six months later he was not only still alive, but planning a long distance walk for charity. With humour and honesty, his story chronicles the uneven path back from the brink of death. His book raises profound questions about medical trials and palliative care, and indeed about our attitudes to life and death, and the way we approach death. Peter Houghton’s story has already attracted considerable media coverage in the UK and the States. A feature appeared in the Sunday Times magazine, he has appeared on This Morning with Richard and Judy and he has been interviewed for Sixty Minutes in the US.