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The Day I Die: The Untold Story of Assisted Dying in America

By Anita Hannig

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"Copies of this book should be in every doctor's office in the country, to educate patients and doctors themselves!" --Diane Rehm, interviewer and narrator of the PBS documentary When My Time Comes

An intimate investigation of assisted dying in America and what it means to determine the end of our lives.

In this groundbreaking book, award-winning cultural anthropologist Anita Hannig brings us into the lives of ordinary Americans who go to extraordinary lengths to set the terms of their own death. Faced with a terminal diagnosis and unbearable suffering, they decide to seek medical assistance in dying--a legal option now available to one in five Americans.

Drawing on five years of research on the frontlines of assisted dying, Hannig unearths the uniquely personal narratives masked by a polarized national debate. Among them are Ken, an irreverent ninety-year-old blues musician who invites his family to his death, dons his best clothes, and goes out singing; Derianna, a retired nurse and midwife who treks through Oregon and Washington to guide dying patients across life's threshold; and Bruce, a scrappy activist with Parkinson's disease who fights to expand access to the law, not knowing he would soon, in an unexpected twist of fate, become eligible himself.

Lyrical and lucid, sensitive but never sentimental, The Day I Die tackles one of the most urgent social issues of our time: how to restore dignity and meaning to the dying process in the age of high-tech medicine. Meticulously researched and compassionately rendered, the book exposes the tight legal restrictions, frustrating barriers to access, and corrosive cultural stigma that can undermine someone's quest for an assisted death--and why they persist in achieving the departure they desire.

The Day I Die will transform the way we think about agency and closure in the face of death. Its colorful characters remind us what we all stand to gain when we confront the hard--and yet ultimately liberating--truth of our mortality.

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288 pages

Average rating: 8.33

144 RATINGS

6 REVIEWS

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BMC

Jul 26, 2024

9/10 stars

What an absolutely beautiful look at dying and an honest examination of how the current system pigeonholes individuals who want more choice over their death. Honestly, the quality of the writing and research and the well-told stories are a 10/10. I gave the book a 9 simply because of how emotional it is and how difficult it was for me to get through. Highly recommend for anyone interested in learning about assisted dying!

Brittlikesbooks

Jul 02, 2024

10/10 stars

This book captures the beauty and pain associated with dying - a topic many Americans shy away from. The author does a great job immersing herself in the lives of her subjects and presents a well-rounded inside view of the laws surrounding assisted dying and how far we have come…and how far we still have to go. Heartbreaking, informative, and beautiful. 10/10.

jhbandcats

Jul 01, 2024

10/10 stars

This beautiful book is about a subject that everyone should discuss: death, and how we die. While each of us wants to be the exception to the rule and not have to face our own death, it doesn’t work that way. The author gives the background to the right to die / assisted dying movement - it’s over a century old. She interviews doctors, hospice volunteers, advocates, and patients and their family members. It’s clear the author is in favor of assisted dying but she doesn’t browbeat the reader. There are far more problems to assisted dying than I realized. Not only are there lots of restrictions that can prevent patients from qualifying, but the most effective drugs are no longer available (the European manufacturers pulled them because they were being used for executions). That means doctors are trying to find what works best, and there are no guidelines. There’s a horrifying story of a patient who not only didn’t die, but who woke up confused and desperate. When an assisted death is successful, it’s beautiful - the patient, embracing the end to pain and suffering, surrounded by family and friends, and dying peacefully. What we need to achieve that is a federal law allowing assisted dying, a change in the requirements (people with neurodegenerative diseases and dementia don’t qualify), and more helpful timelines. This is a book that everyone should absolutely read. It’s important to every person.

DebWard

Jun 28, 2024

10/10 stars

Such a great book! Well written and full of information about the loaded topic of assisted dying. Having lived most of my life in states that don’t have laws like Oregon’s Death with Dignity, I didn’t really know much about the topic. Now, having read this book I feel like I’m in a much better place to advocate for those that are suffering and might benefit from laws like these.

S.Head

Jun 21, 2024

7/10 stars

Very interesting and captivating. You can definitely feel the dedication the author had for the subject. After the recent loss of my father from COPD, this book really helped me come to terms with grief and see his suffering in a new light. It was somewhat repetitive throughout the book, often repeating facts or other information in each chapter. Overall would recommend to a friend.