Death with Dignity - NOT - assisted suicide.
931481
Remember:  This is Death with Dignity, NOT, Assisted Suicide.  Big difference.  These people are in pain and are suffering and their is no more that the doctors can offer them.  If you are not suffering their pain, you cannot know the agony.  There is great nobility in knowing when to let go and how to let go.

Beautiful documentary - beautiful souls - those who departed and the families and loved ones left behind.
2951525
This is a very well written book about a very important subject that literally means life or death for thousands of people.  Darcy Olson has done her homework and I essentially agree with everything she says.  My only criticism is that she does not go far enough.  The "Right To Try" legislation that she proposes and which has already been adopted in nearly half the states does not unfortunately address the basic problem and that is the refusal of physicians and HMOs to advise patients of their right to enroll in clinical trials, and to specifically advise them of trials that are actively recruiting patients with their specific cancer diagnosis.  The result is that patients who might be helped by a clinical trial are instead allowed to die, while ironically, at the same time, many clinical trials of promising new medications are unable to enroll adequate numbers of patients!  And the reason for this is primarily that individual physicians and HMOs are generally unable to bill for patients in a clinical trial that might save their life but can bill handsomely for "palliative" (hospice) care!

What is needed in addition to Right To Try laws is a court case that rules that the standard of care for treatment of "terminal" cancer includes a requirement that physicians and HMOs advise any patient who is being referred for palliative care, that they not only have a right to participate in a clinical trial, in addition specific information about any clinical trial underway that is recruiting patients with their
specific diagnosis.
974072
Ponder this thought: you've just been apprised by your family doctor that you are terminally ill and have but a brief time left on this earth. Later, someone happens by and is interested in documenting your final sojourn through interviews and photographs, wherein life's most poignant and definitive moment is embraced. How would you respond? This is precisely what Swiss-born, American psychiatrist and world renowned thanatologist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (1926-2004), did in her scant 160 page, but heart-rending, 1978 book, "To Live Until We Say Good-Bye."

Mal Warshaw, the photographer for this work, originally proposed the concept for it after snapping black and white pictures of a 42 year old New York model dying of cancer--his friend "Beth," which he brought to Kubler-Ross, whom he eventually worked in conjunction with for this project. They later randomly selected the four other main characters for this photo essay: "Jamie," a five year old girl diagnosed with a brain tumor, along with her mother--"Linda," from suburban New York; "Louise"--a social worker in her mid-50's from Cleveland, who had breast cancer; and "Jack"--a 71 year old construction worker and superintendent of apartments from New York City, living with liver cancer.

Many are familiar with Kubler-Ross's five step process for those confronted with the sudden dilemma of dying: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance, which she alludes to throughout the book. This volume's quintessential purpose--offering natural, thought inspiring photographs of those who acceded to sharing their struggle, really speak for themselves, such as the one of Kubler-Ross giving Louise the urn for her ashes. The author emphasizes that unfinished business, guilt and fear are what most plagues a dying patient's last days.

In American humanistic psychologist Clark E. Moustakas's 1977 book, "Turning Points," he quotes (from "Death in the First Person," American Journal of Nursing, 1970) an anonymous, lonely and dying student nurse, who uttered--for other nurses, provocative words regarding their not viewing, or relating to, her as a person because of trepidation, often masked by academic routine: "If you really care, would you lose so much of your valuable professionalism if you even cried with me?" This is what not only Kubler-Ross--the Doctor, but Elisabeth--the humanitarian, did through her compassion, sensitivity and intimacy with the dying, which was all the aforementioned woman wanted.

Kubler-Ross's book has to be the classic work on the subject of choreographing what actually transpires during life's most tempestuous vicissitudes, which she describes as "windstorms." She then closes her testament by stating, "I hope that this book encourages people to expose themselves to these windstorms, so that at the end of their own days, they will be proud to look in the mirror and be pleased with the carvings of their own canyon."

If you want an eternal snapshot of the dance of death, that is not just another exercise in lugubriousness, but one which offers faith and renewal of the human spirit, buy "To Live Until We Say Good-Bye" by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross with Mal Warshaw, where "off the tree of fate a many faceted fruit awaits your fingers' probing."
2305832
Having been a caregiver for a loved one with a terminal illness I am very aware of how difficult it can be to engage in conversations about dying. Yet, Elizabeth Kubler Ross discovered during her early work that people dying actually want to talk about it. The problem seems to be that their families and friends, and even the doctors, are sometimes too spooked about bringing it up which can leave our loved ones feeling alone. Finding a comfortable way to bring that conversation to life would be a big help for many and that's what the Amateur's Guide sets out to do for those who'll take the step.

Several months ago I became acquainted with Richard Wagner Ph. D and had the pleasure to read his book The Amateur's Guide to Death and Dying.  His work with people facing end of life issues is inspired and I admire his fearless approach to going into territory most consider taboo and awkward.  Richard Wagner has been working with terminally ill, chronically ill, elder and dying people in hospital, hospice, and home settings for over 30 years. What he writes about is not coming from theory, but from many sessions with groups over the years refining his approach.

I found The Amateur's Guide is a valuable contribution to the body of work available for coming to terms with end of life issues. This is something I wish I had when my wife was alive because it would have provided us a great format to have those important and uncomfortable conversations in an engaging way. At the very least it would have provided us a good platform to work with.

This is not a passive book. Richard Wagner takes an approach that makes the reader part of the story.  In it you become one of the participants in his work group along with a number of people coming from different cultural backgrounds dealing with a variety of issues from cancer to old age. You are a participant, not a fly on the wall, and if you allow yourself to enter his world and take the exercises to heart you will find yourself going through a very fulfilling process. For this reason I feel that this book must be approached when you or your loved one has the appropriate energy and mental acuity to take it all in. There are 10 members in the group, and if you intend to follow their contribution to the group it takes some effort but it is worth it.

I was so impressed with Richard's approach and the experience behind the book that I felt I needed to meet him and do an interview to understand what went in to the writing of the book. We met by phone. It's a wonderful interview and if you would like to read the text of it it's on my blog site "conscious-departures". The interview was posted on October 24th 2012 and is entitled Facing Mortality Head On.
4337571
Dr. Ferrer has written an easy to understand book that covers the many issues related to end of life care for loved ones.  He has witnessed families wrestling with the care of critically ill relatives, seemingly incomprehensible medical procedures, a veritable maze of bureaucracy, and relatives at odds about the best way to proceed.
Many of the drugs, procedures and medical equipment in use today were not available in previous eras, so death came at an earlier age and after less time of being infirm.  Today, individuals can be kept alive with aggressive medical intervention, but quality of life, the cost of care and the impact on family caregivers must be considered.  It is not unusual for a caregiver to become burned out, and for family finances to be depleted in the attempt to keep infirmed loved ones alive and comfortable.  Disagreements with medical staff and other family members becomes commonplace.
This book takes the reader through the various layers of decisions that those close to death and their relatives must make regarding end of life care.  Hospice, palliative care, long-term life support and other options are fully explained by Dr. Ferrer through his personal experiences as an intensive care as a pulmonary specialist.  His uses vivid examples of his patients that have navigated through the critical care system with varying degrees of success.  His family members have not been immune from becoming patients that have had to rely on the critical care.
Most chapters have valuable summaries and checklists for patients and relatives to follow in planning for end of life care.  Living wills, health-care proxies, appointing a family liaison and many other important topics will allow the reader to avoid having to make hurried decisions when a loved one needs critical or long term care.
Dr. Ferrer injects a human element in his narratives to help us to understand the emotions that can arise in family members when a dear one is terminally ill.  He illustrates the many mistakes that patients and relatives make because of misunderstandings in dealing with the medical staff, decoding the procedures that are used, options for varying levels of care and prognosis for the future.  With clear examples, he allows us the opportunity to examine the successes and failures that many families have encountered in those stressful situations.
This book would have been a valuable resource for my family two months ago when my brother-in-law slipped into a coma a day after he was driven to the ER with multiple organ failures.  The ICU medical staff worked around the clock to allow him to recover, but the best medical care could not prevent his condition from deteriorating. The family decisions were not always unanimous regarding his care, advanced treatments, and the future.  After about 10 days in the ICU, it was jointly agreed that he would be transferred to a hospice facility. He passed away about two days later without regaining consciousness.
Please take the time to read this book so that you can make wise decisions about unexpected medical situations and end of life care that will eventually affect all of us. Graceful Exit will allow you to start planning before being blindsided by events that can be difficult to manage under stress.
2302913
If anyone needs a persuasive argument for allowing people with terminal illness the right to end their lives this is it.  If we could only keep politicians and religious nuts out of our lives the right to die (when you chose it) would be legal in every state.  And it should be.
587800
If a book about death can be beautiful "Intimate Death" is such a book. This book is lovingly translated by Carol Brown Janeway. She retains the warmth of Marie de Hennezel's writing. Marie de Hennezel is a psychologist in a hospital in Paris. She writes eloquently about some of her most memorable patients.

What would you do if a patient asked you to kill them so they didn't have to go through the natural painful process of death? How would you communicate with someone who is totally paralyzed? Should you explain that a patient is dying or keep the information just between you and the family? How do you deal with doctors who view death as a defeat?

Marie de Hennezel answers many questions that might otherwise go unanswered. She believes that you should die with dignity and when a patient is ready to die she calmly accompanies them on this journey.

What impressed me most about this book is how lovingly the patients are treated. You would imagine Marie de Hennezel to be drained by the experience of being in the presence of so many individuals passing to the next life. Yet in some way she becomes more aware of the beauty of life itself.

I feel this book would be especially beneficial to doctors, nurses, hospice care workers, psychologists and family and friends of the dying. There is one brief mention of a near-death experience but mostly this book does not discuss what happens after death.

I feel that to tell too much about this book would ruin its impact. It is best just experienced in a quiet contemplative moment. After reading this book you may feel compelled to listen to&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Faure-Requiem-and-other-choral-music/dp/B0000031HB/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Faure: Requiem and other choral music</a>. It is mentioned in this book as music a dying patient loved to listen to and is truly beautiful.

~The Rebecca Review
2934393
Life brings pain into people's lives; the price we all pain for sin . I am called upon by God to love my neighbor as myself. I am not to inflict pain on believers and unbelievers alike. This means I should avoid certain slights, insults, or other behavior that may make another person seem less significant am not to belittle others who walk upon this planet. My rude behavior may result in another feeling less dignify. Hunger for Significance is a book about treating people with dignity. Dignity is the most used word in this book. R.C. Sproul does not teach a person how to put his stamp on this world, to lead huge numbers, or other worldly measures of succeeding, but how to behave toward each person with dignity. To treat each person as one with significance. whether it is people you converse with daily, those you work for, those who work for you or how you vote. This is a book written to a Christian audience. It is an encouragement to evaluate ones consistency of Faith and treatment of others. He explains a problem and how it should be resolved. How doctors should tread their consumers{patients}, how the patient should treat their physician, how nurses treat those under their care, How patients should not treat CNA's or nurses as servants, but professionals. How parents and student should recognize teaching as a profession, How teacher should respect students. R.C. Sproul diagnosis problems in the criminal incarnation: Homosexual Rape, body cavity search, reused underwear, and he pleads for more humane dignify care. He ends the book by discussing labor relations, labor philosophy, and how to treat each other with dignity even though part of the adversarial relationship . One should be able to look upon oneself as a part of society after reading this book and be reflective how one treats others who God has created.
3568738
I just read Derek Humphry's controversial FINAL EXIT, a book whose

subtitle says it all: THE PRACTICALITIES OF SELF-DELIVERANCE

AND ASSISTED SUICIDE FOR THE DYING . . . and while I

wouldn't say I enjoyed it (in large part because of the subject

matter), I did find it very thought-provoking.

Humphry, a journalist  and author, is perhaps best known

as the person who launched the Hemlock Society in

1980 in California . . . though that organization is no longer

in existence, the idea behind it still lives on; i.e., that people

should have the right to choose rational suicide as an option

in certain instances.

Now please don't get on my case if you disagree with that

opinion . . . I'm not advocating for it one way or the other--or

at least not in this review . . . in fact, in this book, Humphry

actually presents more reasons why somebody should not

commit suicide . . . as he notes:

If you are considering taking your life because you are unhappy,

cannot cope, or are confused, please do not use this table but

contact a Crisis Intervention Center or Suicide Prevention Center.

(Look in the telephone book. It may be under "Hotlines.') An un-

finished life is a terrible thing to waste. This information is meant

for consideration only by a mature adult who is dying and wishes

to know about self-deliverance.

Yet for those with an incurable disease and who want an easy

passing for themselves and/or their loved ones, then the author's

story about his wife will offer much insight:

I was Jean's safety device against a too early self-deliverance.

While I did not want her to die, I was willing to take my share of

the responsibility of decision-making if it brought her peace.

Assisting in difficult decisions is an essential responsibility of

a loving relationship.

USA TODAY in 2007 listed FINAL EXIT as amongst the

25 most influential books of the previous quarter century . . . it

is definitely NOT for everyone, yet that said, I also liked the fact

that it has such useful advice for anybody facing death as the

following tidbit:

Tell those around you the complimentary things which have been left

unsaid due to the strain of illness. The appropriate "I am grateful for

what you've done" or similar remark will help comfort those left

behind after you have gone.

Wouldn't it be grand if we could do the above more often, especially

when we're healthy?
2115314
The topic of euthanasia is handled poorly by depicting older seniors as
fools and victims of other people's schemes. A "machine" is devised to
help seniors commit suicide under the guise of helping them fulfill their
wishes to escape a painful and meaningless life when they should be helped
to face their destiny and draw pride and strength in their latent power to cope
with their difficult last days thereby offering others a model for the expression
of human courage, not human cowardice.
Aside from that the constant reloading of the film because of small bandwidth
of my web connection inspired me to beat a hasty retreat and an early end to
my own life of watching this video.
861014
As a leader of a caregiver support group, we acknowledge and discuss the fact of death.  Chuck Branz provides the reader with information to lessen the fear and feel the peace of our final destination.  When a loved one has palliative care, the family gathers around and shows their love and support.  This is a mortal way of lessening the fear - by showing constant love.  Spiritually, Chuck as a pastor, knows that God shows constant love and thus the knowledge that death is the horizon to life.
4054093
Good to see an MD admitting these things and going for quality of life rather than useless expensive torturous treatment at end of life.
980249
I recommend this story as a great reminder that we can choose to lay down and 'die' or we can choose to live the rest of our life to the fullest.
My rating is based on my opinion that it was an excellent story but did not required the coarse language to be great.
564630
Euthanasia and Law in Europe (2008) is the definitive book that unpacks existing data on euthanasia, assisted suicide and other medical behaviors that potentially shorten life (MBPSL) in The Netherlands, Belgium, England, Wales, France, Italy, Scandinavia, Spain, and Switzerland.  This book is a follow-up to Euthanasia and Law in the Netherlands (1998) and offers the most even-handed and meticulous examination of practices around end-of-life that I have seen on the topic.  It is a must read for anyone interested in learning more about the history, development, and current policies at the end of life in Europe.

The book leads with the Dutch material on euthanasia, assisted suicide and other MBPSL.  The Netherlands is the country with the longest standing legal practice of euthanasia and assisted suicide, legalizing these practices by court decision in 1984 and by law in 2002.  Griffiths and his colleagues offer a well-researched accounting of figures presented in the van der Wal and van der Maas study, along with discussions of data from a number of other sources.  Chapter 4 should be read by anyone interested in understanding what exactly national figures on euthanasia and other MBPSL report, particularly as it relates to practices that may be considered on the "slippery slope" around euthanasia.  Chapter 6 offers a thoughtful account of end-of-life policies as it relates to neonatology.

The section on Belgium offers some of the new and current data now available from that country, which legalized euthanasia and assisted suicide in 2002.  This is followed by short chapters on a number of other European countries.

For readers looking for a meta-analysis of end-of-life policies in Europe, see chapters 17-20.  Chapter 19 offers a careful and even-handed examination of euthanasia in the context of "slippery slope" arguments.
3364901
In Ann Marlowe's How To Stop Time, the author writes on the insistent and predictable need of heroin.  In discussing her own life experiences and how they relate to her heroin use Marlowe presents heroin use in an uncommon way.  Marlowe challenges the definition of using heroin.  I expected the book to be about, or at least certainly end with, reasons that people should not use heroin.  This is not the case though, Marlowe shows that heroin might not kill you.  Heroin might not force you into poverty, it might not make you stop being active and playing sports, and it might not even cause you to lose your job.  Marlowe shows that the definition of heroin is not that you will automatically lose your life or have your lifestyle change drastically, but rather that heroin-users lose some of life's richness.  Heroin-users miss out on the little things that are often taken for granted.  Heroin-users do not experience life's stimulating emotions because they are on emotional auto-pilot.  Marlowe states that, "The life heroin bestows is not less painful, just less profound; not less stressful, just less surprsising."  In this book, Marlowe challenges the definition of heroin-users.  Marlowe states that doing heroin is not necessarily a death wish, rather, heroin dulls some of life's experiences.
1233173
This is a suicide version of, "Defending Your Life" featuring Robin Williams. It infers that every person that ever committed suicide before Robin Williams is rotting in hell, but he is given a chance to redeem himself because of all the good he did while alive.

The book acknowledges the debate about mental illness and suicide among humans, but I would think God or angels or employees of the afterlife would recognize the connection between mental illness, physical debilitation, and suicide and would not just send these people to "the void" to suffer in death more of what they suffered in life. All the people/beings encountered in the afterlife are warm, compassionate, and loving, but if you committed suicide you're going to hell. End of story.

I find it difficult to believe that Robin Williams is the first "good" person to have killed himself in the history of the world, but that's what this book is saying.. Kill yourself=hell, unless you're Robin Williams. I don't know anything about the author, but it seems her own personal beliefs about suicide are what this book is really about, not Robin Williams.

I do not recommend this book. It is filled with outdated religious overtones about suicide and leaves little room for empathy or forgiveness--except for Robin Williams.
3527917
Last Wish is at once a beautifully-written, loving tribute to the author's mother, a harsh critique of the medical system (as it existed in the 1980's, in any case), and an unflinching expos on assisted suicide. This uplifting and heartrending story should be required reading for young and old alike.

I did notice a certain "datedness" in Rollin's depiction of race relations that some might find offensive--for example, the fact that the in-home care nurses were all Black, and one of them (a Jamaican nurse named Belva) felt uncomfortable addressing her white employer by her first name. Nonetheless, this story is as relevant today as when it was published in 1985. Whatever one's religious persuasion, we cannot know how we will feel about our life until faced with a debilitating, terminal, and tortuously painful final illness.

I am a firm believer in the right of each individual to make his or her own end-of-life decisions, including suicide if circumstances are dire enough to warrant such extreme action. I take comfort in knowing that choice is available to me-as a practical if not legal matter, and hope I am never in a position to seriously contemplate exercising it. Despite the fact that only three states (Montana, Oregon and Washington) have adopted statutes permitting physician-assisted suicide, and 36 states (including New York and California) have laws expressly criminalizing it, I assume that with the advent of the Internet, it would not be anywhere near as risky or difficult to accomplish as it was for the Rollin family.

On that score, Rollin was nothing short of phenomenal in her handling of this touchy aspect. She does not shy away from offering unsentimental, nuts-and-bolts facts, yet veers just shy of turning her book into a gory sideshow. All the while, she unabashedly handles her own misgivings and emotional torment with sensitivity and grace. I commend both her touching and delicate treatment of her mother's final wish and her courage in sharing this very important story with the public at a time when it was a far more taboo subject than one might imagine.
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