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Final Exit: The Practicalities of Self-Deliverance and Assisted Suicide for the Dying » (Revised and Updated)

Book cover image of Final Exit: The Practicalities of Self-Deliverance and Assisted Suicide for the Dying by Derek Humphry

Authors: Derek Humphry
ISBN-13: 9780385336536, ISBN-10: 0385336535
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Date Published: November 2002
Edition: Revised and Updated

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Author Biography: Derek Humphry

Book Synopsis

As the legal controversy continues—this newly revised and updated third edition of the landmark bestseller contains new, critically important information for patients, loved ones, and medical personnel.

The original publication of Final Exit stunned the nation by offering people with terminal illness a choice on how—and when—to end their suffering. It helped thousands by giving clear instructions to doctors, nurses, and families on how to handle a patient’s request for euthanasia.

In the wake of court cases and legislative mandates, this revised and updated third edition goes far beyond the original to provide new information about the legality of euthanasia and assisted suicide, and a thoughtful examination of the personal issues involved. It has become the essential source to help loved ones and supportive doctors remain within existing laws and keep a person’s dying intimate, private, and dignified.

With deep compassion and sensitivity, it spells out why a living will may not be sufficient to have a person’s wishes carried out—and what document is a better alternative. It updates where to get proper drugs and exactly how to carry out the quickest, most peaceful way to make a final exit. Finally, it gently talks to a person considering self-deliverance about alternatives, planning, and the means to make every death a "good death" at our time of greatest need.

Publishers Weekly

Controversy should erupt anew when Humphry's suicide manual for the terminally ill, newly revised and expanded, tries to match in paper the successes that it enjoyed in cloth, including 18 weeks on PW's bestseller list. (Sept.)

Table of Contents

Introductions
1The Most Difficult Decision1
2Shopping for the Right Doctor8
3Beware of the Law14
4The Hospice Option22
5The Cyanide Enigma27
6Death Hollywood Style35
7Bizarre Ways to Die40
8The Dilemma of the Severely Handicapped49
9Self-Starvation57
10The Will to Die and "Miracle Cures"62
11Who Shall Know?68
12Life Insurance72
13After the Self-Deliverance75
14A Private Matter?80
15Psychological Support for the Dying87
16Letters to Be Written92
17Going Together?97
18When Is the Time to Die?101
19How Do You Get the "Magic Pills"?109
20Storing Drugs116
21Death in the Family Car120
22Self-Deliverance Using a Plastic Bag123
23The Checklist129
24The Final Act134
25The Risky Drugs145
26Physician-assisted Suicide and Active Voluntary Euthanasia155
Appendix AGlossary of Terms Connected with Dying164
Appendix BOregon's Law169
Appendix CPain Control180
Appendix DSuicide Hot Lines182
Appendix EA Living Will and Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care184
Books to Read195
Index197
About the Author208

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