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John West has a significant story to tell: He helped his parents die. His father, Jolly, was suffering from an aggressive, incurable cancer; his mother, K, whose suicide occurred some months later, was physically debilitated and facing the terrors of Alzheimer's disease. The suicide scenes in this memoir are filled with West's anxieties: He wonders if the pills will work, if Jolly... Washington Post Book Review (read the entire Washington Post review) or K is failing too swiftly and will be unable to continue swallowing, if he's failed to notice some detail — a fingerprint, a carelessly worded remark to an outsider — that could betray him. But West's prose is sometimes downright clunky: "She's gobbling those guys down like nothing" is how he describes his mother's ingestion of lethal pills. Yet he manages to touch us. He shines a harsh light on a society that forces a son to go through so much pain simply to relieve a parent's suffering. And he also communicates a softer message about his relationship with his mother, and their unselfish love for one another. Juliet Wittman teaches writing at the University of Colorado. Reviewed by Juliet Wittman, Washington Post Book World (Copyright 2006 Washington Post Book World Service/Washington Post Writers Group)
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Synopsis:
A husband and wife, both medical professionals, are gravely ill. Rather than living in pain, they choose to end their lives, and they turn to their son for help. Despite the legal risks and certain emotional turmoil, he agrees—and ultimately performs an act of love more difficult than any other.
The Last Goodnights provides a unique, powerful, and unflinching look inside the reality of one of the most galvanizing issues of our time: assisted suicide. Told with intensity and bare honesty, John Wests account of the deaths of two brave people is gritty and loving, frightening and illuminating, nerve-wracking and even, at times, darkly humorous. As Wests story places him in one of the most difficult experiences anyone can endure, it also offers a powerful testament to the act of death by choice, and reveals the reasons why end-of-life issues are far too personal for government intrusion.
Intimately told, The Last Goodnights points out the unnecessary pain and suffering that is often forced upon dying people and their families, and honors the choice to die with purpose and dignity. In the end, this story is not just about death—it is also about love, courage, and autonomy.
Synopsis:
"The Last Goodnights" provides a unique, powerful, and unflinching look deep inside the reality of one of the most galvanizing issues of our time: assisted suicide. In the end, this work is not just about death--it is also about love, courage, and autonomy.
A husband and wife, both medical professionals, are gravely ill. Rather than living in pain, they choose to end their lives, and they turn to their son for help. Despite the legal risks and certain emotional turmoil, he agrees—and ultimately performs an act of love more difficult than any other.
The Last Goodnights provides a unique, powerful, and unflinching look inside the reality of one of the most galvanizing issues of our time: assisted suicide. Told with intensity and bare honesty, John Wests account of the deaths of two brave people is gritty and loving, frightening and illuminating, nerve-wracking and even, at times, darkly humorous. As Wests story places him in one of the most difficult experiences anyone can endure, it also offers a powerful testament to the act of death by choice, and reveals the reasons why end-of-life issues are far too personal for government intrusion.
Intimately told, The Last Goodnights points out the unnecessary pain and suffering that is often forced upon dying people and their families, and honors the choice to die with purpose and dignity. In the end, this story is not just about death—it is also about love, courage, and autonomy.
"Synopsis"
by Ingram,
"The Last Goodnights" provides a unique, powerful, and unflinching look deep inside the reality of one of the most galvanizing issues of our time: assisted suicide. In the end, this work is not just about death--it is also about love, courage, and autonomy.
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