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Image courtesy of publisher's website.
Issue Details: First known date: 2021... 2021 Choosing to Live, Choosing to Die : A Memoir of My Husband
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'At 45, Bill Johnson, faced with chronic illness and the loss of everything important to him, decided to die, seemingly in stark contradiction to how he’d lived his life. Since his devastating accident at 13, he’d fought for decades against disability and prejudice to achieve a fulfilling and successful life. As his wife, Carolyne Lee witnessed his final conundrum, and was persuaded to support him as he died by euthanasia. This is the story of Bill’s death and his life, much of which the author discovered afterwards, in seeking to understand his fearless final decision.

‘Somehow I must tell of that day … It is, after all, the initiating event of his story. It caused everything that followed: the bad, first, which endured for a long time. But also the good. This event set up the defining paradox of his life. To fight endlessly for a satisfying quality of life, but once that quality was gone, to face death with more than bravery; to embrace it.’

Source : publisher's blurb

Affiliation Notes

  • Writing Disability in Australia

    Type of disability

    Spinal cord injury

    Type of character Primary
    Point of view First person (non-disabled narrator)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Last amended 24 Jul 2024 12:15:09
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