Augusto Caraceni
 
I met Dame Cicely personally only twice, and it was much later in my career that I read her writings, letters, articles and biography. I came to St. Christopher’s Hospice only after she died to organize the "Italian Day" there for Italian palliative care people. Her thoughts and her profound inspiration are now with me everyday in my professional life when I talk to my staff, with my patients, in my public speeches and teaching. And this is my light at night, where to read I need no glasses, and my books, in the silence of the night, are friends that never talk to me about palliative care, but they could tell a lot about me to others. History, poetry, philosophy and novels are company in the silence of the night and they help to reflect the light of understanding and sharing with the rest of the world and of history. The light that is a corner of my house and family, the light which is reflected in the intriguing Cicely’s smile and blue eyes, telling all of us in her latest years that “interest never ends”.
 
Dr Augusto Caraceni
Director Palliative Care Pain Therapy & Rehabilitation;
Vice President European Assoc. for Palliative Care, EAPC;
 
Milan, Italy