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The unusual theme of this collection and the diverse backgrounds of the authors represented combine to awaken the reader's interest. As its authors note, there is little in the literature on treatment that is useful to the counselor of the dying patient. Hence, they assert that their “purpose is not to summarize conflicting views or find a universally acceptable formula, but rather to indicate a starting point where those who seek some common ground between the field of psychosomatic medicine and religion may meet.” (p. 151) There is no question that such a “starting point” is achieved, perhaps surpassed.
The fact that three of the authors have had experience in both religion and mental health lends this work an unusual breadth of approach. But this very breadth reveals a conflict in attitude and purpose which cannot be synthesized. Whether the goal of the counselor is to find solutions to psychic problems which threaten to cause the death of the patient, or whether it should be to help the patient accept his impending death with relative equanimity is not an easy question to answer. To this reviewer, the solution would appear to depend on the patient's problems and the span of time he has yet to live. But the authors attempt to do both at once and at the same time deny it.
This conflict of purpose is generally implied, not explicitly stated, except for the following statement: “As to the will of God, it is important to realize that there is a constant conflict between the ultimate will of God, which is true health and wholeness for all that has been created, and the circumstantial will of God, which continually places limitations on the ultimate will through giving man free choice. Man's own carelessness, ignorance and willfullness interfere with the working out of the perfect design for health and wholeness. In that sense, man accepts responsibility for what happens to him …” (p. 61)
Such an attitude, if emotionally accepted on the part of both counselor and patient,