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Knopf
February 2016
On Sale: February 2, 2016
178 pages
ISBN: 1101875283
EAN: 9781101875285
Kindle: B00XG9BVQ4
Hardcover / e-Book
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Self-Help Relationships
In a deeply personal and moving book, the beloved NPR radio host speaks out about the long drawn-out death (from Parkinsonβs) of her husband of fifty-four years, and of her struggle to reconstruct her life without him. With John gone, Diane was indeed βon her own,β coping with the inevitable practical issues and, more important, with the profoundly emotional ones. What to do, how to react, reaching out again into the worldβstruggling to create a new reality for herself while clinging to memories of the past. Her focus is on her own roller-coaster experiences, but she has also solicited the moving stories of such recently widowed friends as Roger Mudd and Susan Stamberg, which work to expose the reader to a remarkable range of reactions to the death of a spouse. Johnβs unnecessarily extended deathβhe begged to be helped to dieβculminated in his taking matters into his own hands, simply refusing to take water, food, and medication. His heroic actions spurred Diane into becoming a kind of poster person for the βright to dieβ movement that is all too slowly taking shape in our country. With the brave determination that has characterized her whole life, she is finding a meaningful new way to contribute to the world. Her bookβas practical as it is inspiringβwill be a help and a comfort to the recently bereaved, and a beacon of hope about the possibilities that remain to us as we deal with our own approaching mortality.
 Media BuzzPBS News Hour - March 3, 2016
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