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Read this several years ago. Very good book about the ethics and law re: vegetative state.
Very long drawn out. So many characters to keep track of. Glad of the ending glad I also read the Epilogue.
This was a hard book to read, because of the subject matter (the death of Nancy Cruzan, who was injured in an automobile accident and was brain dead, yet her family was unable to discontinue life support without a protracted legal battle). It was, however, very well written. The Cruzan case was a landmark in medical ethics, and the heartbreak her family went through was mind-numbing and ultimately destroyed her father.It's not a book I would normally have picked, but I participate in a palliativ...
this was a wonderful written sad book. nancy had a car accident and was dead but revived at the scene. she was in a comatose vegatative state. she was not on a resperater but had a feeding tube. the state they lived in was missouri in the spring of 1987 and there was not a right to die law. this is the long story of the legal fight for 8 years of trying to remove her feeding tube. tthe case went to the state supreme court and back to the united stated supreme court. the legal and medical battle
Note the subtitle: The Deaths of Nancy Cruzan. That's plural, death*s*. Nancy had a car wreck in the early 80s and wound up in a persistent vegetative state for years. This is the story of how her family's torment as they gain the right to discontinue her tube feedings and let her die. Her gravestone says it all: Born, Departed, At Peace. Three separate dates. The author is the lawyer who spent nearly ten years of his life desperately seeking peace for Nancy and her family.
I read this book in two days. It is a well-written, riveting story told by the lawyer who represented the Cruzans in their legal battle fighting for the right to remove the feeding tube from their daughter, Nancy, who had been in a persistent vegetative state for years. If you enjoy medical and law topics as I do, then you will certainly enjoy this book. Bill Colby goes into great detail on the court cases which I was surprised to find so enthralling. This book should have been a bestseller!
This author was my Law and Bioethics teacher in law school. His book is about his involvement as a young attorney with the Nancy Cruzan right to die case in Missouri in the late '80s. Its a wonderful read both about the legal efforts it took for her family to win the right to take her off of life support, but also does an excellent job of reminding us lawyer-types that every precedent-setting case has a real-life person behind it.
Well written by the lawyer who represented the Cruzan family in the late 80s. You learn a lot about the legal process with such a controversial subject (the right to die). The heartbreak this family had to go through not just the night of the horrible car accident, but the 8 years of their loving daughter/sister in a vegetative state...so sad.
It's been a long time since I've read this book but I think about it all the time. It happened in my home town so of course I had a personal connection to it. But everyone should read it. It's thought provoking and SO important that your wishes on how you would want to live after a brain injury are known to your family. Beautifully tragic story.
I'm not often a fan of this kind of book--it's nonfiction about a lengthy court battle. But Colby does a good job of telling the story, and it's a pretty dramatic one, which brings up a lot of questions about prolonged life support, pre-Terry Schiavo.
important thoughtful non-fiction
What a tragically devastating book. I could not imagine being in that horrific situation. My heart goes out to the family. And I'm now certain to get a living will.
I can't imagine going through all this.
