The death of a child horrifies. We recoil at its mention. Images of dead or dying children impose themselves on our attention in ways that challenge us to change. Yet the topic of dying children is studiously avoided. When we do take notice, we paint children as victims, innocent of both blame and agency, passive in the face of suffering. Children die secluded in homes and hospitals, allowing society to carry on as though it were not happening. Befriending the North Wind is about the moral lives of children and their agency in decisions about death. Our failure to be honest and open about the death of children hinders us from addressing their needs and confronting the sources of their suffering. This failure only adds to their suffering. Dying children often feel ignored, overlooked, and unable to exercise their agency to ameliorate their situation. Befriending the North Wind presents a reconstruction of our understanding of human nature in light of the dimensions of human meaning that children reveal and the new horizons they open to us. It asserts that children can die a good death and that they can and should have a voice in their end-of-life care. This agency is grounded in their ability to make meaning, to act, to imitate, to use language creatively, to grasp a plurality of meanings, to reach judgments, to contribute to the meanings of others and to shape their understanding. Children are moral agents. We grown-ups need to humble ourselves and listen. Product DetailsISBN-13: 9781506481838 Media Type: Paperback Publisher: Fortress Press Publication Date: 11-14-2023 Pages: 209About the Author Robyn Boeré is an associate professor at the Faculty of Theology at the University of Oslo. A scholar of moral theology, her research focuses on moral decision-making, medical ethics, and the meaning of the moral life. She was previously an associate lecturer at the University of St. Andrews and a postdoctoral research fellow at the Lonergan Research Institute at the University of Toronto. She lives in Oslo, Norway.Table of Contents Table of ContentsIntroduction: Barely Seen, Rarely Heard Chapter 1: Who Is a Child? Chapter 2: Can a Child Live the Good Life? Chapter 3: Can a Child Die a Good Death? Chapter 4: Does a Child Mean What She Says? Chapter 5: Can a Child Choose? Epilogue Show More