NEW BOOK, Very Timely Topic, Practical and Useful

  TUCSON, AZ - 03/23/2017 (PRESS RELEASE JET)

Americans'  fear of death and the combined efforts of religion, government  and the health care industry conspire to keep us alive longer than we may want to. In cases of terminal illness or unbearable conditions with no chance of improvement, we need a way out.

John Abraham, Episcopal priest and Thanatologist who has never shied away from controversy and who founded one of the first American hospices, has dedicated a lifetime to ensuring this final human right: the right to die in a manner of our own choosing. His book is not for the faint of heart. Abraham does not mince words when describing what he has witnessed. He gives detailed lists on what to do when dealing with family members, friends, clergy and medical professionals who may not share the reader's personal choices in their manner of dying. It truly is the ultimate "how to" book since it pertains to the one process that all of us will one day go through. And it explains in a factual, logical and very clear and direct way the reasons why some of us join right-to-die organizations such as Death With Dignity, Compassion & Choices, and Final Exit Network.

Abraham helps the reader to think through the ways one would like to die, while recognizing that we live in a death-denying culture. He gives voice to the difficult choices to be considered as we die. Specifics are also given on how to deal with the confusing and dominating medical environment. There are chapters exploring attitudes and experiences in encountering death, the importance of death education, and the right of a dying patient to relieve suffering and choose one’s own way to die.  Moral arguments for the right to die and the importance of this civil right are carefully discussed. There is an extremely comprehensive “death check list” which details practical things to address before and after death. In an appendix chapter, research about a “Good Death” is explored, enabling the reader to explore the benefits of getting the death you want.  In all, Abraham has done our culture a great service in providing a map for the exploration of  and preparation for death that each one of us inevitably will face.

“Many people do not want to talk about death for a single minute. John has been talking about it, studying it, and writing about it for forty-five years. He knows the subject. In those forty-five years (and I have known John for all forty-five of them) his knowledge has evolved and his passion has grown in a particular direction: wanting all of us to have just as much freedom in dying as we have in living. This, his latest publication, shows us, with all John’s knowledge and all his passion, how we can have that freedom. If you want such freedom, you need to read this book and study it.”

— Douglas Smith, M.Div., M.A., M.S., author of The Tao of Dying

and The Complete Book of Counseling the Dying and the Grieving

            The book “How To Get the Death You Want” is available from Amazon or directly from the publisher at http://upperaccess.com/books.asp

            Much more information (Table of Contents, Excerpts) is at www.DeathAndDyingHelp.com

            John Abraham is available for media interviews, commentary and speaking engagements.  Contact him at:  520-235-5646 or JohnWithFen@earthlink.net. 

His first book signing takes place at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 8 at Barnes and Noble, Foothills Mall, Tucson.