Final Choices: Seeking the Good Death

Those who want to make dying better could not do better than to carefully listen to the voices of patients and families who have experienced dying as it now is in the American hospital. By meeting the people Mike Vitez writes about ... little will happen to make death less of a mystery but much can be learned about how to solve the mystery of making dying more humane and dignified.

Arthur Caplan, Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania

The death of a loved one is never easy to face. However, the many choices now available to critically ill patients and their families try to make the experience less mysterious and frightening by giving people more control over how and where they will die. Today’s options include nursing homes, hospice care and even assisted suicide.

Yet the range of choices can also cause families more pain as they try to make the best decision with the fewest regrets. In this Pulitzer Prize-winning chronicle, Michael Vitez presents five options and the people who chose them. The courage and strength of the men and women portrayed in this book will undoubtedly lead readers to think and talk more about their own ideas and decisions regarding death.

About the Author

Michael Vitez won the Pulitzer Prize in 1997 for his article series “Final Choices: Seeking the Good Death.” He is a reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer.