The Spirit Ambulance: Choreographing the End of Life in Thailand Volume 49

The Spirit Ambulance is a journey into decision-making at the end of life in Thailand, where families attempt to craft good deaths for their elders in the face of clashing ethical frameworks, from a rapidly developing universal medical system, to national and global human-rights politics, to contemporary movements in Buddhist metaphysics. Scott Stonington's gripping ethnography documents how Thai families attempt to pay back a "debt of life" to their elders through intensive medical care, followed by a medically assisted rush from the hospital to home to ensure a spiritually advantageous last breath. The result is a powerful exploration of the nature of death and the complexities arising from the globalization of biomedical expertise and ethics around the world.


Author: Scott Stonington
Publisher: University of California Press
Published: 08/25/2020
Pages: 208
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 8.80h x 5.90w x 0.50d
ISBN13: 9780520343900
ISBN10: 0520343905
BISAC Categories:
- Social Science | Anthropology | Cultural & Social
- Social Science | Death & Dying
- Medical | Ethics

About the Author
Scott Stonington, MD, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Anthropology, International Studies, and Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan.