Ira Byock, M.D., Palliative Care Physician; Founder and Chief Medical Officer, Institute for Human Caring, Providence Health and Services; Professor of Medicine and Community & Family Medicine, Dartmouth

Americans tend to consider illness and dying as fundamentally medical problems. Doctors and nurses focus their attention on alleviating suffering at end of life. But though suffering is undeniably part of illness and dying, with good palliative care many people retain a capacity for subjective well-being through the end of their lives. Dr. Byock will explore the surprising possibility of contentment and joy in dying and the implications for our understanding of full and healthy living.

A renowned author, Dr. Byock has appeared on NPR's "All Things Considered," CBS "60 Minutes," "Fox and Friends," and PBS "The News Hour."