‘A searingly honest tale of love, life and death’ – Sarah Wootton, Dignity in Dying Die Smiling is a rare and intimate account of one man’s journey to Dignitas in Zurich and his ultimate triumph over suffering and disease.
Told with wit and candour, Julie Casson traces her husband Nigel’s extraordinary journey from diagnosis of motor neurone disease to his death.
Successful businessman and father of three, Nigel battles the degenerative disease with boundless courage and gritty good humour, until, faced with the unimaginable torture of a slow, living death – his spirit crushed, his body a tomb – he takes control. He decides to go to Dignitas to end his life, while he is still able to die smiling.
The family prepares for this enormous logistical and emotional challenge: the gruelling Dignitas process and the eight-hundred-mile road trip to Switzerland. They complete it with pragmatism and humour. Denying the disease its victory and choosing his own cure, Nigel dies happily, in the arms of his wife and children.
This is a thought-provoking and deeply moving book, where love, family, dignity and choice conquer adversity. It sits in the heart of the debate on assisted dying and raises questions about the right to put an end to suffering and the right to choose how life should end.
‘Julie Casson lays bare the devastating human impact of the UK’s ban on assisted dying, capturing precisely why true choice at the end of life is a movement whose time has come for this country. By turns uplifting and heart-wrenching, Die Smiling is a searingly honest tale of love, life and death, and a powerful contribution to a historic debate.’ – Sarah Wootton, CEO Dignity in DyingContents1. Looking Back 3 2. Death’s Calling Card 6 3. Brenda and Methuselah 15 4. Tests, Tests and More Tests 23 5. The End of ‘Normal.’ 32 6. Life with MND Begins 44 7. Breaking the News 53 8. The Wailing Weeks 67 9. Spain 81 10. The Bucket List 85 11. Where Hope Dies 91 12. Not Ready for This 98 13. Our Spanish Love Affair 103 14. Two Steps Ahead 112 15. MND Declares War 122 16. Don’t Forget Me 126 17. Cost More Than our First House 132 18. Starting to Die 137 19. 22 July 2011 147 20. Every Day is a Bonus 157 21. Don’t Laugh at my Cock 164 22. Toileting Matters 179 23. When the Laughter Stops 191 24. It’s All About Control 203 25. Apply to Die 210 26. The Provisional Green Light 226 27. Last Christmas 238 28. The Recce 247 29. Appointment with Death 264 30. Twenty-five Days Left to Live 283 31. The Goodbyes 295 32. The Hotel and the Doctor 303 33. One More Day 314 34. Nigel’s Cure 328 35. Nigel’s Last Goodbye 345 Acknowledgements 356
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