The Choice: Seasons of Loss and Renewal After a Father's Decision to Die [Paperback]

Judy Brown (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1995

Through the dramatic story of her father's decision to die with the help of Dr. Jack Kevorkian and her struggle to cope with his suicide, the author explores the controversies surrounding euthanasia and the right to die. Simultaneous. Tour. IP.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Brown, an organizational consultant dealing primarily with change, tells the story of her father, Stanley Ball, a farmer and agricultural agent who, diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, obtained the aid of Dr. Jack Kevorkian in an assisted suicide that took place on February 4, 1993. She points out that Michigan law prevented her and her brother from talking with friends before her father's passing, and she wonders why discussion of assisted suicide is so often mean-spirited and harsh. She avers that assisted suicide always appears different to those personally involved in it and that every situation is unique and all of those involved must work through its various aspects. Moreover, she does not intend her father's death to be taken as a model. Rather, she counsels caring, listening, and being open, nonjudgmental, and willing to accept change in oneself and others as elementary in dealing with the assisted-suicide decision. William Beatty --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Conari Pr (October 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573240214
• ISBN-13: 978-1573240215
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,364,031 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, November 23, 2010

By 

Marie - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Choice: Seasons of Loss and Renewal After a Father's Decision to Die (Paperback)

The Choice is a beautifully written, heartfelt journey. I felt Judy's love and loss of her father. I also relished her words as she described relationships with family, friends, and colleagues as well as the changes in life. Judy is a gifted writer.

No matter your stand on the subject of assisted suicide, this book will touch your heart.

3.0 out of 5 stars HOW I HELPED MY FATHER DIE, September 16, 2010

By 

James L. Park "James Leonard Park" (Minneapolis, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Choice: Seasons of Loss and Renewal After a Father's Decision to Die (Paperback)

Judy Brown
The Choice: Seasons of Loss and Renewal
after a Father's Decision to Die
(Berkeley, CA: Conari Press, 1995)
(ISBN: 1-57324-021-4; paperback)
(Library of Congress call number: R726.B78 1995)

Judy Brown tells of the life and death of her father,
who decided to die because he was in failing health.
He asked for help from Dr. Jack Kevorkian,
then much in the news (1993).
Her father had been a farmer and agricultural agent.
He was blind and dying from pancreatic cancer.
His family agreed that a voluntary death
was preferable to dying in pain a few months later.

He was well known in his community.
And the people of the surrounding area
mostly understood his choice and honored his decision
to die at the best time and by the best means.

Another woman requested to die with Dr. Kevorkian's help
at the same time and place, which was readily arranged.

This book actually tells more about the internal process of the daughter
than the thinking and planning of the father,
but it nevertheless adds to the literature of
the right-to-die from the perspective of the family members
who were deeply involved in the patient's voluntary death.

If you would like to read other books about choosing to die,
search the Internet for this bibliography:
"Best Books on Voluntary Death".

James Leonard Park, advocate of the right-to-die with careful safeguards.