How do we approach death whilst embracing life? Philip Gould shares his thoughts and insights as he confronts his impending death from oesophageal cancer in this short, 8min youtube film called “When I Die”. This intimate portrait reveals his quest to find purpose and meaning in what he called “The Death Zone”. He had been diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus in 2008 and was given three months to live in the summer of 2011.
I was introduced to this video by Derren Brown, in part three of his book “Happy” which gives an excellent debate on the need and usefulness of being aware of your death every day.
Philip Gould’s book, “When I Die: Lessons from the Death Zone” is published in the UK by Little Brown. Proceeds from the book will go to the National Oesophago-Gastric Cancer Fund (donations to http://www.justgiving.com/nogcf ) and the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity (donations to http://www.royalmarsden.org/philipgould )