Super Short Summary

In her anthropological study Final Days: Japanese Culture and Choice at the End of Life, Susan Orpett Long examines how Japanese culture shapes end-of-life choices, using four cultural scripts for a "good death" and comparing these to American approaches. She highlights that social and cultural connectedness constrains individual autonomy, even as postindustrial contexts necessitate some degree of choice for the dying. Sensitive topics include death, dying, and medical decisions.