Noch mal leben vor dem Tod

Few things move us as much as the encounter with death. Few things happen today as hidden as dying. Journalist Beate Lakotta and photographer Walter Schels asked terminally ill patients if they could accompany them in their final weeks. From these encounters emerged sensitive portrayals and photographs of people at the end of their lives. Most spent their last days in a hospice, a place for the dying where hopes and fears weigh equally: those who move in here can experience the time until death as consciously and painlessly as possible. However, they are left with only a short span to take stock, make peace with themselves and others, confront death, and ponder the question of what comes after. Twenty-five stories from people who are incurably ill, sharing what it is like to be close to death and having to say goodbye to life. Impressive portraits, taken shortly before and immediately after death, accompany them.