Dying is never beautiful but there are beautiful moments. qualitative interviews with those affected on the subject of 'good dying'

The concept of the good death has been widely considered.
However, the perspectives of those affected have not received
sufficient attention. In our empirical study, we conducted interviews
with 32 people who were confronted with dying; these
people were either terminally ill, elderly or else were bereaved
carers. The findings show that for this group of people, dying is
not just a physical process, but also a psychological, social and
spiritual one. From the perspective of those affected, dying is
never beautiful, in particular because of the associated pain and
suffering. At the same time, people confronted with dying do
experience beautiful moments. In the stories they tell of these
beautiful moments, it is a beauty emanating from a sense of elevated
emotion – of moral emotion – rather than any aesthetic
beauty. We conclude that good care of the dying enables beautiful
moments and creates reflective spaces for those affected to express
what beauty means to them. We show that the public discourse
differs significantly from the perspective of those affected and more
efforts need to be made to include their voices.