Four Butterflies: End of Life Stories of Transition and Transformation

In this article, the author discusses her experiences as an Artist In Residence in theDepartment of Palliative Care and Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Texas M. D.Anderson Cancer Center. Emphasis is placed on the ways in which end of life images andnarratives often unfold in the fragile yet powerful space where conceptions of aesthetics andspirituality intersect with critical issues in the medical humanities. Drawing on four vividcase studies, the author examines the ways in which end of life narratives shed valuable light onconceptions of the subtlety of human embodiment; issues of violation, sorrow, and forgiveness;the mystical dimensions of traditional cultural beliefs; and the capacity for perceiving thenatural world as a living symbol of grace. In so doing, she explores how the themes of transitionand transformation become invested with meaningful existential and symbolic dimensions inartworks that give voice and presence to some of the most vulnerable, and often invisible,members of our societypeople at the end of life