This collection of correspondence investigates the personal conviction and strategic development required to establish the modern hospice movement. Editor David Clark compiles selected letters from Cicely Saunders to illustrate the evolution of palliative care from a singular vision into a global medical standard. The text provides a primary source framework for understanding the administrative, ethical, and clinical challenges faced during the mid-to-late 20th century.

Experts recognize this volume as a foundational primary source for historians of medicine and palliative care practitioners. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which serves as a vital record of the movement's institutional history.