I’ve been encouraged to write autobiographically in this forum, so bear with me, dear reader. We’ve barely been introduced, and this time it’s personal. I’ll be sharing some thoughts about HBO’s extraordinary new documentary How to Die in Oregon, but first, allow me this indulgence:
When my father died four months ago at the age of 79, I sat beside him in my wheelchair as his death drew near. I couldn’t hold his hand and he couldn’t hold mine, so I gently touched the parchment-like skin of dad’s withered right arm while my older brother, standing on the other side of the bed, leaned over and quietly suggested to our father that this was “a good time to go.”
Dad must have agreed, because a few seconds later, he did.