1. Introduction -- 2. Themes and schemes: a prelude -- 3. At the beginning and end of life: a meditation on the subtle hoax of matter -- 4. Dialogue and trust -- 5. Openings into clinical ethics -- 6. Voices and time -- 7. Responsibility in clinical ethics consultation -- 8. Clinical listening, narrative writing -- 9. Visions and re-visions: life and the accident of birth.