A welcome interrogation of the values that constitute caregiving in democratic life.

How can we conceive a shared ethic that serves of the values of the city? Doesn't the attention paid to the sick shed light on the social bond? What does it mean to care for others and devote attention to them in a context where individualism, solitude, and the culture of the present moment seem to alter the principles that bring people together around common commitments? This book is informed by a personal journey and direct contact with dementia, pain, hospice care, and serious illnesses, undertaken in order to better understand the ethical issues involved.