The Last Goodnights: Assisting My Parents with Their Suicides

by John West

Overview

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 West's account of the deaths of two brave people is gritty and loving, frightening and illuminating, nerve-wracking and even, at times, darkly humorous. As West's 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781582435572
Publisher:	Catapult
Publication date:	01/05/2010
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	266
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Educated at Stanford, UCLA, and the University of Wisconsin Law School, John West is an attorney, writer, and outdoorsman. He lives in Los Angeles.

Table of Contents

foreword 1

1 The Beginning 3

2 Honors and Horrors 19

3 Make My Bed. Close My Eyes 53

4 The Morning After 65

5 The Next Beginning 79

6 March Madness 103

7 Remembering and Preparing 125

8 K's Last Day 201

9 The Last Goodnight 209

10 The Morning After, Again 231

11 The Aftermath 245

afterword 249

Editorial Reviews

"It's an incredible story . . . and whatever your feelings about helping someone die, The Last Goodnights adds something valuable to the conversation." --Popdose.com

"John West has a significant story to tell . . . 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." --The Washington Post

"Harrowing and heartbreaking . . . a gripping account." --The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

"You will sympathize." --The Minneapolis Star Tribune

From the Publisher

West 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.
—The Washington Post

Juliet Wittman