The Good Death Quotes

“death serves as a powerful reminder of the similarities that bind us together.”
― Suzanne B. O’Brien, The Good Death: A Guide for Supporting Your Loved One through the End of Life

“Most hospices condone VSED if the patient has set forth their wishes in writing while of sound mind, and patients don’t have to get government or physician approval to do it.5”
― Suzanne B. O’Brien, The Good Death: A Guide for Supporting Your Loved One through the End of Life

“Palliative” means that the treatment relieves symptoms but doesn’t cure the illness. It’s used to make people comfortable when their illness can’t be cured.”
― Suzanne B. O’Brien, The Good Death: A Guide for Supporting Your Loved One through the End of Life

“In my opinion, it’s time to bring back the awareness that death is not a medical experience—it’s a human one.”
― Suzanne B. O’Brien, The Good Death: A Guide for Supporting Your Loved One through the End of Life

“medical systems take control and send the terminally ill to medical institutions designed to treat and cure ailments even when it’s clear the end is near.”
― Suzanne B. O’Brien, The Good Death: A Guide for Supporting Your Loved One through the End of Life

“Perhaps the real source of our fear is the fact that we have stripped death of its natural place in the journey of life. By trying to shield ourselves from it and by using language that reinforces our fears, we may have unknowingly nurtured an unjustified dread about this sacred and integral part of life’s progression.”
― Suzanne B. O’Brien, The Good Death: A Guide for Supporting Your Loved One through the End of Life

“While doctors should certainly do what they can, there does come that moment when letting go and accepting the inevitable would be the most compassionate choice for the patient, the patient’s loved ones, and also for the doctor.”
― Suzanne B. O’Brien, The Good Death: A Guide for Supporting Your Loved One through the End of Life

“I had found a way to empower more people to help their loved ones have a good death.”
― Suzanne B. O’Brien, The Good Death: A Guide for Supporting Your Loved One through the End of Life