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Choosing to Live, Choosing to Die: The Complexities of Assisted Dying
★ “Tate’s sprawling work is a fascinating guide that belongs in all middle school, high school, and public libraries. This resource will help tweens and teens looking to better understand death and dying for personal or academic purposes.”― School Library Journal , starred review With many jurisdictions considering whether or not to implement new assisted-death legislation, Choosing to Live, Choosing to Die is a timely look at the subject for teen readers who may not yet have had much experience with death and dying. Readers are introduced to the topic of assisted dying through the author's own story. The issue continues to be hotly debated in families, communities and countries around the world, and there are no easy answers. Choosing to Live, Choosing to Die looks at the issue from multiple perspectives and encourages readers to listen with an open mind and a kind heart and reach their own conclusions.
- GenresNonfiction
176 pages, Paperback
Published September 17, 2019
56 people want to read
About the author
Nikki Tate
42 books29 followersNikki Tate was born in Birmingham, England, but spent her childhood roaming the globe. In Australia, Nikki battled a tarantula, in Banff she was chased by a mother black bear, and in Ontario she wrestled with a Canada goose.
Despite the fact that she has been kicked, bitten, stung, pecked, and sprayed, she has never been able to resist injured, lost, or lonely-looking animals. Over the years, her menagerie has included horses, dogs, cats, birds, snakes, squirrels, rabbits, rats, gerbils, spiders, crayfish, hamsters, and a pond full of koi fish. These critters and their antics often find their way into her stories. Not surprisingly, Nikki's favourite book when she was little was Black Beauty, though she also loved The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and The Hobbit.
Nikki has always enjoyed writing stories and still has the notebooks she used when she was eight years old. She made up stories about animals, plane crashes, outhouses, and Doctor Dolittle's travels in outer space.
A born ham, Nikki danced, acted, and modeled her way through her younger years. She still loves to perform, most often as a storyteller. She also enjoys camping, kayaking, horseback riding, travel, and building big things with sticks and string. Nikki lives on a tiny farm on Vancouver Island in British Columbia with a collection of furred, feathered, and finned creatures.
Despite the fact that she has been kicked, bitten, stung, pecked, and sprayed, she has never been able to resist injured, lost, or lonely-looking animals. Over the years, her menagerie has included horses, dogs, cats, birds, snakes, squirrels, rabbits, rats, gerbils, spiders, crayfish, hamsters, and a pond full of koi fish. These critters and their antics often find their way into her stories. Not surprisingly, Nikki's favourite book when she was little was Black Beauty, though she also loved The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and The Hobbit.
Nikki has always enjoyed writing stories and still has the notebooks she used when she was eight years old. She made up stories about animals, plane crashes, outhouses, and Doctor Dolittle's travels in outer space.
A born ham, Nikki danced, acted, and modeled her way through her younger years. She still loves to perform, most often as a storyteller. She also enjoys camping, kayaking, horseback riding, travel, and building big things with sticks and string. Nikki lives on a tiny farm on Vancouver Island in British Columbia with a collection of furred, feathered, and finned creatures.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 24, 2020
| Reader Fox Blog |
Choosing to Live, Choosing to Die by Nikki Tate covers a topic I have always felt quite strongly about. Assisted dying is one of those subjects that has been controversial for a rather long time, subsisting in the simple fact that our world as a whole is largely against choosing death in any form. Suicide, in every way, has always been something a great many people feel the need to fight and prevent. And as technology allows us the option to medically assist suicide, or medically assist death, it brings about a question I find exceedingly important; do we have the right to force others to live and do we have the right to force it when they are suffering? For some reason, we do seem to think that we have that right; that we can deny others the right to choose what to do with their life.
I am, unquestionably, one of those who believes assisted death should be a right. I find it fascinating that we believe it is perfectly alright to make the decision to euthanize our pets if they are suffering in the last moments of their lives but we do not consider it acceptable or merciful to allow that option to a person--with infinitely more faculties and abilities to inform us of the decision they want than a beloved pet--when they are suffering. It seems rather...selfish.
Choosing to Live, Choosing to Die does not state its opinions nearly as strongly as I would. It is informative and does its best to be neutral regarding the topic. Often, Tate's narrative goes back and forth on the subject and ultimately does a rather impressive job of presenting factual information derived from a large amount of research. This book does present the subject of assisted dying in a more positive light, clearly seeking to inform and allow others to come to their own conclusions but also not seeing assisted dying as inherently wrong or immoral.
I appreciated that immensely.
I would say that this is an important read for anyone looking to learn more and understand aspects of assisted dying, why someone might seek it out, and what the thought process behind it all is. It may help someone come to terms with a loved one seeking assisted death. If you're looking for someone to tell you how horrible it is that such a choice is available in today's world, this book is not going to do so. But I would encourage you to read it anyway; perhaps it will foster an understanding.
This is a subject that means a lot to me. I have a lot of very strong positive opinions for it, all stemming from the fact that I don't believe it is right for anyone to force another person to live whilst they are suffering. And I understand that many will feel strongly in the opposite way. I do think this book offers a lot of amazing information to shed light on the subject. It will likely remain controversial for a long, long time. But it's nice to see that we're discussing it.
I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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Choosing to Live, Choosing to Die by Nikki Tate covers a topic I have always felt quite strongly about. Assisted dying is one of those subjects that has been controversial for a rather long time, subsisting in the simple fact that our world as a whole is largely against choosing death in any form. Suicide, in every way, has always been something a great many people feel the need to fight and prevent. And as technology allows us the option to medically assist suicide, or medically assist death, it brings about a question I find exceedingly important; do we have the right to force others to live and do we have the right to force it when they are suffering? For some reason, we do seem to think that we have that right; that we can deny others the right to choose what to do with their life.
I am, unquestionably, one of those who believes assisted death should be a right. I find it fascinating that we believe it is perfectly alright to make the decision to euthanize our pets if they are suffering in the last moments of their lives but we do not consider it acceptable or merciful to allow that option to a person--with infinitely more faculties and abilities to inform us of the decision they want than a beloved pet--when they are suffering. It seems rather...selfish.
Choosing to Live, Choosing to Die does not state its opinions nearly as strongly as I would. It is informative and does its best to be neutral regarding the topic. Often, Tate's narrative goes back and forth on the subject and ultimately does a rather impressive job of presenting factual information derived from a large amount of research. This book does present the subject of assisted dying in a more positive light, clearly seeking to inform and allow others to come to their own conclusions but also not seeing assisted dying as inherently wrong or immoral.
I appreciated that immensely.
I would say that this is an important read for anyone looking to learn more and understand aspects of assisted dying, why someone might seek it out, and what the thought process behind it all is. It may help someone come to terms with a loved one seeking assisted death. If you're looking for someone to tell you how horrible it is that such a choice is available in today's world, this book is not going to do so. But I would encourage you to read it anyway; perhaps it will foster an understanding.
This is a subject that means a lot to me. I have a lot of very strong positive opinions for it, all stemming from the fact that I don't believe it is right for anyone to force another person to live whilst they are suffering. And I understand that many will feel strongly in the opposite way. I do think this book offers a lot of amazing information to shed light on the subject. It will likely remain controversial for a long, long time. But it's nice to see that we're discussing it.
I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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October 12, 2022
XXXXX
Just like life, death is rarely straightforward
XXXXX
“My hope is that this book will encourage you to begin to have conversations about death and the way we die and, just as important, about how we live our lives.”
The above quote (in italics) comes from this well-researched book by Nikki Tate. She is an author of more than thirty books.
This book examines the complex issue of medical assistance in dying from many perspectives.
What exactly is medical assistance in dying (MAiD)? It is a death that occurs with the direct assistance of a physician and at the request of the patient.
The main question: should medical assistance in dying be easily available? Central to the debate is whether it’s more important to protect life at any cost or to give every person the right to choose what’s best for them.
You will learn that medical assistance in dying is both a complex and controversial issue. There are many questions but there are no easy answers.
A highlight of this book (at least for me) is that it uses a combination of narrative, “end-of-life” facts, isolated quotations, many provocative questions, isolated case studies, captioned full-colour photographs, and an excellent glossary to fully explain medical assistance in dying. Thus, this book is never boring.
Finally, we’re told by the publisher (on the copyright page) that this book can be read by teenagers who want to understand this complex issue. I’m not so sure about this. Yes this book is well-written but the glumness of the topic may repel teenagers. Adults, however, should appreciate this finely-written and finely-researched resource.
In conclusion, through this thought-provoking and easy-to-understand guide, I’ve come to appreciate what a gift it is to be alive!!
[2019; introduction; 11 chapters; main narrative 160 pages; acknowledgements; glossary; references; photo credits; index]
XXXXX
Just like life, death is rarely straightforward
XXXXX
“My hope is that this book will encourage you to begin to have conversations about death and the way we die and, just as important, about how we live our lives.”
The above quote (in italics) comes from this well-researched book by Nikki Tate. She is an author of more than thirty books.
This book examines the complex issue of medical assistance in dying from many perspectives.
What exactly is medical assistance in dying (MAiD)? It is a death that occurs with the direct assistance of a physician and at the request of the patient.
The main question: should medical assistance in dying be easily available? Central to the debate is whether it’s more important to protect life at any cost or to give every person the right to choose what’s best for them.
You will learn that medical assistance in dying is both a complex and controversial issue. There are many questions but there are no easy answers.
A highlight of this book (at least for me) is that it uses a combination of narrative, “end-of-life” facts, isolated quotations, many provocative questions, isolated case studies, captioned full-colour photographs, and an excellent glossary to fully explain medical assistance in dying. Thus, this book is never boring.
Finally, we’re told by the publisher (on the copyright page) that this book can be read by teenagers who want to understand this complex issue. I’m not so sure about this. Yes this book is well-written but the glumness of the topic may repel teenagers. Adults, however, should appreciate this finely-written and finely-researched resource.
In conclusion, through this thought-provoking and easy-to-understand guide, I’ve come to appreciate what a gift it is to be alive!!
[2019; introduction; 11 chapters; main narrative 160 pages; acknowledgements; glossary; references; photo credits; index]
XXXXX
September 10, 2019
This was a disappointment, although to be fair, the author does warn readers that while writing the book, their own thoughts we all over the place. Unfortunately, those thoughts have yet to be edited into something coherent and readable. There are asides and asides to asides. There are examples without context. There is very little factual information about how the body dies. There is even less about legal matters. This should come off any shelves it is already on for a big round of editing, preferable starting with an outline and clear purpose.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews