A dialogue between an award-winning Czech writer, journalist and the founder of hospice care about her life, spiritual journey and attitudes to the terminally ill.

Interview

When most people in the Czech Republic hear the term “hospice and palliative care,” there is one name that comes to mind: Marie Svatošová, the doctor who pioneered care for the dying in this country at a time when death was a taboo subject. In his latest book of discussions with interesting personalities, the journalist and writer Aleš Palán examines milestones in the life of Marie Svatošová, the founder of the first Czech hospice. He traces her personal, spiritual and professional journey, her perception of Christianity and help in providing end-of-life care, and the values she is guided by. Aleš Palán is an excellent interviewer and Marie Svatošová replies as simply and plainly as possible. What is it like to inhabit the all-powerful white coat? Is euthanasia acceptable? How to deal with a bleak diagnosis and what meaning does it have? This book of interviews with the famous doctor includes black-and-white and colour photographs.

About the author

Aleš Palán (1965) is a novelist, journalist and author of more than forty books, half of which are interviews in book form. He has won several literary awards.

Marie Svatošová (1942) is a Czech doctor, writer and founder of the hospice movement in the Czech Republic. In 1995 she was behind the creation of the first Czech hospice in Červený Kostelec. She has helped to set up a number of other Bohemian and Moravian hospices by providing assistance and advice. She tirelessly travels around the Czech Republic lecturing and continues to promote the idea of hospices. Her books such as Až k prolití krve (Until Blood is Spilled, 2005) and Hospice a umění doprovázet (Hospices and the Art of End-of-Life Care, 2011) have become bestsellers. Marie Svatošová has been awarded several state honours.