In book Kubler Ross On Death and Dying

Kubler-Ross emphasizes we have come to see death as something we should prevent at all costs, and at times our resistance to death only prolongs the patient's pain. We are so determined to keep people alive on machines and with medicines that they, perhaps, do not even want. By defining and describing the stages of dying, Kubler-Ross breaks new ground by reminding us that all these stages, no matter how we live them through, are normal and natural parts of the process.

Kubler-Ross reminds the reader death is just as much a part of life as birth is. In our technological society we try to maintain the patient's physical systems but tend not to pay attention to the patient, himself. All of the busy medical activities taking place around an ill patient's body disregards the fact he has a soul, feelings and desires about his own health.

In earlier times, when our resources were more limited, death was more accepted and treated more as a natural function. We cleansed the bodies of our dead and buried them respectfully. Now, we try every kind of technology to save the body, even prolonging life beyond the conscious state to maintain a vegetative state in the hope the person might return to life. Although it is marvelous to think about what we are able to do for a patient, it is also ridiculous deny our loved ones the natural aspects of death, at the expense of their emotional well-being.