Good Life, Good Death: Memoir of a Writer Who Became a Euthanasia Advocate

Good life, good death is the very best current book on the right to die . this is the issue that will become the new civil rights cause in the coming decade and of course Humphry has the absolutely best take on it. I bought it and REALLY appreciated it Jerry Dincin

I have always thought of Derek Humphry as one of the lions of the Right to Die movement. His memoir, "Good Life, Good Death" puts a more personal face on this kind and brave man. His earlier years were not easy and, yet, without complaint, he devotes his life to helping those most in need of direction and information regarding life, death, and choice. Despite fierce resistance from the religious right he marches onward with the courage of his convictions. With a renewed sense of hope and change, I believe his life's work will become much more visible in 2009. It is my fervent wish that this will be so. Sheila Redd

Having read much of Derek Humphry's prior writing, I found this latest book of his to be very revealing of his personal life and it made me realize why he has been so committed to the issue of dying with dignity. This is an easy read due to the style of writing and an extremely interesting read as well. All who have any involvement with, or interest in, the ethical and humanistic right-to-die issues will find this a great addition to their library. You will get to know the person behind the best seller, Final Exit, which became one of the few books still selling, in numerous languages, over twenty years after publication.

Anyone interested in end of life issues will find this a fascinating read. The author walks us through his life and through the life of the Right-to-Die movement, all in an easy to read, attention holding, style. Those in the movement know that Derek Humphry is the father of the movement in this country and is a figure of stature thoughout the world on the issue of the right to die, death with dignity, assisted suicide, or whatever name one wishes to use. A timely book, given the push, in many countries,including the US, to give people the right to have options at the end of life. Also, this book is a nice adjunct to his famous, and widely read book "Final Exit."

Derek Humphry, known worldwide as the Founding Father of the present-day international right-to-die-movement, has had a profound effect on how the world views end-of-life issues. His motto-and the name of his autobiography-is "Good Life, Good Death." The phrase is also the lapel pin for the central concept of his life's work since 1975: gaining legal acceptance for the concept that "The Freedom to die in the manner of our own choosing is the ultimate civil liberty." His writing has been the fuel which has fed the voluntary euthanasia movement for over three decades, but until the publication of this autobiography, the world only saw him through his deeds, not through the forces that drove them. His story of how, at his wife Jean's request, he obtained from a physician the drugs that would end her misery, will be as emotionally gripping a hundred years from now as they are today. But where does this kind of courage come from? In this book, the reader learns that the compassion which led him into the forefront of the voluntary euthanasia movement had begun many years before Jean's cancer. Before having to confront her pain and imminent death, Humphry was already making a major name for himself as a writer committed to positive social action. He wrote extensively about race problems and civil liberties, and in 1972 was awarded the Martin Luther King Memorial Prize (U.K.) for his contribution to racial harmony: the book, "Because They're Black." I had the privilege of reading the pre-publication manuscript of this book last year, while preparing to write about him in my forthcoming book, "Final Friends: An Intimate Biography of the Right-to-Die Movement" (www.finalfriends.net). His autobiography takes the reader inside his head and tells what shaped the thinking that shaped the life that shaped the man who permanently changed the world of end-of-life issues. Written in a forthright, journalistic style devoid of self-puffery, it offers a deeply intimate portrait of the man most people know only from his cause. Richard N. Côté, author in 2008 of "In Search of Gentle Death: A Brief History of the NuTech Group."