Review: The Last Goodnights by John West
Reviewed by Claudia R.
“I don’t know what my booze bill was for that time, but I’m sure it was big. I had good reason, though: I had to kill my parents. They asked me to. Actually, they asked me to help them with their suicides, and I did.” – John West
Assisted Suicide is the common term for controversial actions by which an individual helps another person die upon their wanting to do. This is a concept almost always reserved for people who are terminally ill. In the United States, only three States “allow” assisted suicide: Oregon, Washington and Montana. Even then, there is a mountain of red tape and legalities that must first be dealt with, rendering the entire process a living nightmare.
When John’s ailing father asks his son to aide him with his suicide, John does not hesitate. His father, a prominent doctor, understood what would happen to him as the cancer progressed, and John was sure of his father’s mental faculties at the time of the request. Together, they schemed and plotted the last goodbye. In his book, The Last Goodnights, John details the days leading up to the final moments, the aftermath, and the inevitable consequences, first for his father and then again for his mother.
In journal form, John takes the readers through the experience, describing a unique and personal perspective in the lives of all involved, offering a different opinion of death with dignity, driving home the point that each situation is intimate, and should never involve government intrusion in the first place. Having to dance around the legalities of assisted suicide during such a grievous time is like adding insult to injury. The government should not have any rights over our bodies and the choices and decisions we make with them at any time during our lives.
[amazonify]158243557X[/amazonify]Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Death is as natural as life, and should be sweet and graceful”. I agree. We should ultimately all have the choice to leave this earth when and how we see fit. Unfortunately, at this time, most of us do not.
Unfortunately, many do not see it this way and John’s book brings the controversial subject to the forefront in his memoir. Definitely a conversation piece, this book is sure to make you think about your own d-day and the choices you can or can’t make. Simple, tender, honest, brutally honest, The Last Goodnights will linger in the back of your mind long after you’ve finished reading it.
For more information, please visit The Last Goodnights website.
Claudia lives on Cape Cod with her husband and two children. She entertains her passion for reading in between being a full-time Mom, aspiring writer, avid photographer & volunteer for Missie’s Closet, an emergency food & necessities pantry for the low-income in her area.
This book was provided free of any obligation by John West. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.
Category: Memoirs, Nonfiction
great blog thank you
I do believe in assisted suicide or self suicide if your health is grave without any hope of recoverey. The only problem I have is that the Bible says no to suicide and assisted suicide would be considered murder. This leaves me in a state of quandary as I am sure alot of others find themselves.
This book would be a very emotional read.
You are right Miss Kallie. If I tell someone to assist my death, then I am committing suicide which in the Catholic faith is a major sin. So although I believe in the concept, I cannot participate in the practice.
This sounds like a fascinating memoir to me! It is definitely a conversation starter, as the review prompted me to turn directly to my husband and ask him what he thought of the subject. While it would be incredibly hard to read, I think it would still be a very worthwhile book to give a try as I am sure it was not easy for the author to share his experience.
Oh wow … This is definitely something I would not be able to read. In my (required, ugh) Social Ethics class in college, I struggled through the week-long section on Euthanasia/Assisted Suicide/Etc. … It was coming just over a year after my granddaddy’s sudden death, and whew – not fun. This is an issue that’s always been hard for me to verbalize: what I feel in my heart & soul, and what my mind & reason have to say – some agreement, some disagreement – is such a whirling mess … but it’s definitely a sensitive, heart-wrenching subject.
I applaud the author for being able to write & record the ‘experience’ and presenting a case that most people would never know about. I just cannot read it …
After 28 years of working in intensive care units, I can easily support the idea of assisted suicide. In your final moments of life you may find what should be your decision about what to do next being made by a physician who gets paid by the visit or a relative who feels they cannot have your death on their hands.
However, I must strongly disagree with Claudia’s statement (or is it the book author’s?) that “government should not have any rights over our bodies at … any time during our lives”. Such a global encompassing statement cannot embrace the many human conditions that are health related. I am sure the statement’s owner would not support viable late term abortions, offensive face tattoos or the shooting up of heroin. Health care needs to be constantly regulated, as it is in the profit mode, even when it is seemingly not-for-profit, or on the street side.
Admittedly, I have not given assisted suicide much thought. Surprisingly, my own state California (which I consider the most liberal in the nation) does not have legal assisted suicide. We no likely should, but “Thou shalt not kill” is firmly planted in our collective psyche.
Would love to read the book. Thanks for the review and for providing a soapbox platform.
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This seems like a book that would not be an enjoyable read, but rather an eye-opening one. I am going to assume that the author lives in one of the three states were assisted suicide is legal. This might be be a hard read, but I am still going to add it to list, reserving the right to put it down if it becomes too much.
I doubt that I could read this book as the subject matter is emotional baggage that would bring back memories of all the suffering my mother and father went through with their cancer before they passed away. I actually wrote a term paper in college on this subject and the writing of paper was extremely emotional as my mother was dieing from cancer. I am still leaning that assisted suicide is wrong, but I am sure many of your readers may believe differently. I do know one thing … I could never help someone else terminate their life. I wouldn’t want to carry that emotional baggage the rest of my life.
That’s definitely another consideration Steve. I understand someone wanting to terminate their life due to illness, but how do you ask that of someone knowing that it will stay for them for the rest of their lives?
It would definitely emotional baggage for the majority of us. There are always individuals who champion the rights of others to the point of being the willing assistant. Personally, I would never want the role no matter how much I believed in the process.