I Am Here by Johannes Klabbers

I Am Here by Johannes Klabbers

What comfort can an agnostic give people who are suffering or dying? Looking for more meaning in his work, Johannes Klabbers gave up a tenured academic position to spend his days caring for the sick and dying. He trained as a secular pastoral carer in a cancer hospital, and from the patients there he learned how simply talking and listening can provide comfort: from chatting about the football to discussing life’s meaning and how one prepares for death.  I Am Here is a frank, moving, and sometimes funny record of his encounters. It gives an unforgettable insight into the variety of ways people cope with suffering, and suggests how we can support them — through caring, through conversation, and by acknowledging that although we may not be able to answer all of life’s questions, we can face them together. From one of the saddest places comes this powerful affirmation of our capacity for humane care.

‘It’s beautifully written, incredibly moving and lingering … terrible, ordinary, tragic’

-- Chris Kraus, author of I Love Dick

‘Wonderfully insightful … Klabbers’s interactions with patients are often inspired.’

* Weekend Australian *

‘Enlightening and moving.’

-- Ramona Koval

‘Anyone interested in how patients and professionals share the experience of cancer, and how relationships form in unusual and unfortunate circumstances will appreciate this book. It is for anyone who likes to think about the minutiae of another's life. It is about the ability to keep one's heart open in ill health and any reader will find a smile and a tear in the encounters described.’

-- A Nurse * Reviewed for Macmillan Cancer Support *

‘[I Am Here] may help a professional if they were to get cancer and had not read anything else. As a ward assistant in a hospice and dealing with patients that have cancer, I found it very useful indeed.

-- A Ward Assistant * Reviewed for Macmillan Cancer Support *

‘This is a lovely book with an insight into how people feel; it invites others to voice their feelings. It is useful for all aspects of dealing with a cancer diagnosis but could also help in other long-term conditions or acute illness scenarios.’

-- A Healthcare Professional * Reviewed for Macmillan Cancer Support *

In London during the heyday of punk, Johannes Klabbers shared the stage with legends like Siouxie and the Banshees, The Slits and XTC, before escaping to Australia to do a PhD in art and becoming an academic. Now, as an author and posthumanist therapist, he writes and talks with people about how to have a life, and what it means to die.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781925228625
ISBN 10	1925228622
Title	I Am Here
Author	Johannes Klabbers
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Scribe Publications
Year published	2016-07-14
Number of pages	256
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.