Tuesdays with Morrie
A Review of Death & Dying
Brittany Platt
English 9
Ms. Susany
Stages of Death & Dying
 Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
 Swiss/American Psychiatrist
 Published her research as a
book
Stages of Death & Dying
 Denial
 Anger
 Bargaining
 Depression
 Acceptance
Denial
 “Not Me”
 The person does not believe that this situation is
happening to them.
Anger
 “Why Me”
 The person is upset that this is happening to them
Bargaining
 “…But first let me”
 The person bargains with God for more time
Depression
 “Woe is me”
 Sadness and despair about dying
Acceptance
 I am OK
 The person accepts that this is happening
 Does not mean they are happy about dying
Examples from the Book
Denial
“My old professor was stunned
by the normalcy of the day
around him. Shouldn’t the
world stop? Don’t they know
what happened to me? But the
world did not stop, it took no
notice at all, and as Morrie
pulled weakly on the car door,
he felt as if he were dropping
into a hole.
Now what? He thought.”
Tuesdays with Morrie, p. 8
Denial
"Everyone knows they’re going to die... but nobody believes
it. If we did, we would do things differently….”
Tuesdays with Morrie, p. 80
Anger
“At the same time, I had my first serious encounter with death. My favorite uncle, my
mother’s brother, the man who had taught me music, taught me to drive, teased me about
girls, thrown me a football—that one adult whom I targeted as a child and said, “That’s who I
want to be when I grow up”—died of pancreatic cancer at the age of forty-four. He was a
short, handsome man with a thick mustache, and I was with him for the last year of his life,
living in an apartment just below his. I watched his strong body wither, then bloat, saw him
suffer, night after night, doubled over at the dinner table, pressing on his stomach, his eyes
shut, his mouth contorted in pain. “Ahhhhh, God,” he would moan. “Ahhhhhh, Jesus!” The
rest of us—my aunt, his two young sons, me—stood there, silently, cleaning the plates,
averting our eyes. It was the most helpless I have ever felt in my life. One night in May, my
uncle and I sat on the balcony of his apartment. It was breezy and warm. He looked out
toward the horizon and said, through gritted teeth, that he wouldn’t be around to see his kids
into the next school year. He asked if I would look after them. I told him not to talk that way.
He stared at me sadly. He died a few weeks later.”
Tuesdays with Morrie, p. 17
Bargaining
“In the last segment of the interview, Morrie
divulges that he has been "bargaining with
Him up there," the first time Mitch has heard
him admit that he talks to God.”
Tuesdays with Morrie, p. 163
Depression
His voice choked. “Mitch … a few
years ago … he died of cancer. I feel
so sad. I never got to see him. I never
got to forgive. It pains me now so
much …” He was crying again, a soft
and quiet cry, and because his head
was back, the tears rolled off the side
of his face before they reached his
lips. Sorry, I said. “Don’t be,” he
whispered. “Tears are okay.” I
continued rubbing lotion into his
lifeless toes. He wept for a few
minutes, alone with his memories.
“It’s not just other people we need to
forgive, Mitch,” he finally whispered.
We also need to forgive ourselves.”
Tuesdays with Morrie, p. 166
Acceptance
“When all this started, I asked myself, ‘Am I
going to withdraw from the world, like most
people do, or am I going to live?’
I decided I’m going to live – or at
least try to live – the way I want,
with dignity, with courage, with
humor, with composure.
There are some mornings when I cry and cry
and mourn for myself. Some mornings, I’m so
angry and bitter. But it doesn’t last too long.
Then I get up and say, ‘I want to live..’ So far,
I’ve been able to do it. Will I be able to
continue? I don’t know. But I’m betting on
myself that I will.”
Tuesdays with Morrie, p. 21
Acceptance
I leaned in and kissed him
closely, my face against his,
whiskers on whiskers, skin on
skin, holding it there longer than
normal, in case it gave him even
a split second of pleasure.
Tuesdays with Morrie, pp. 185186
Websites for Graphics
Slide 2 –
http://acelebrationofwomen.org/2012/11/elisabeth-kublerross-loss-grief-and-bereavement/
Slide 3 http://us.cdn4.123rf.com/168nwm/pixelsaway/pixelsaway1
009/pixelsaway100900033/7765882-the-5-stages-of-griefdenial-anger-bargaining-depression-acceptance--conceptexplained-with-white-ch.jpg
Slide 4 - http://possiblyhelpfuladvice.com/?p=4839
http://qbq.com/outstanding-organizations-no-denial-allowed/
http://www.georgeambler.com/10-signs-of-a-leader-in-denial/
Slide 5
http://www.selfgrowthwithin.com/adopting-anger-management-skillsthat-work/
http://www.modernmeditation.ca/how-to-control-anger/
http://eatourbrains.com/EoB/2007/11/08/anger-management/
Slide 6
http://aheartforthehome.com/5-ways-organize-prayer-time/
http://peeledandcored.blogspot.com/2012/10/if-i-just-then-maybebargaining.html
Slide 7
http://guardianlv.com/2013/09/can-religion-and-spirituality-causedepression/
http://www.carroll.edu/students/wellness/counseling/depression.cc
http://www.managing-depression.com
Slide 8
http://mycounselor.org/?p=73
Slide 9
http://mitchalbom.com/d/bio/3720/inspiration-morrie-schwartz
Slide 13
http://mitchalbom.com/d/bio/3720/inspiration-morrie-schwartz
Slide 14
http://www.brandeis.edu/now/2012/june/morrie.html
Slide 15
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=15627680