Living and Dying at Murray Manor is a classic text that documents how the "work" of everyday life in a nursing home is accomplished. Jaber F. Gubrium spent several months at a nursing home as a participant-observer, involved in activities ranging from performing menial "toileting" work to serving as a gerontologist at staff meetings. The result is not a survey of statistics about nursing homes but an examination of the social organization of care in a single home the author calls Murray Manor.

During his stay, Gubrium became an increasingly accepted part of life at Murray Manor and was thus able to view the institution in its natural state. His research reveals how staff, clientele, relatives, visiting physicians, and funeral directors negotiated their respective roles, needs, and goals - and how, in the end, Murray Manor emerged as an organized social entity.