The Inevitable: Dispatches on the Right to Die

"A remarkably nuanced, empathetic, and well-crafted work of journalism, [The Inevitable] explores what might be called the right-to-die underground, a world of people who wonder why a medical system that can do so much to try to extend their lives can do so little to help them end those lives in a peaceful and painless way."--Brooke Jarvis, The New Yorker

More states and countries are passing right-to-die laws that allow the sick and suffering to end their lives at pre-planned moments, with the help of physicians. But even where these laws exist, they leave many people behind. The Inevitable moves beyond margins of the law to the people who are meticulously planning their final hours--far from medical offices, legislative chambers, hospital ethics committees, and polite conversation. It also shines a light on the people who help them: loved ones and, sometimes, clandestine groups on the Internet that together form the "euthanasia underground."

Katie Engelhart, a veteran journalist, focuses on six people representing different aspects of the right to die debate. Two are doctors: a California physician who runs a boutique assisted death clinic and has written more lethal prescriptions than anyone else in the U.S.; an Australian named Philip Nitschke who lost his medical license for teaching people how to end their lives painlessly and peacefully at "DIY Death" workshops. The other four chapters belong to people who said they wanted to die because they were suffering unbearably--of old age, chronic illness, dementia, and mental anguish--and saw suicide as their only option.

Spanning North America, Europe, and Australia, The Inevitable offers a deeply reported and fearless look at a morally tangled subject. It introduces readers to ordinary people who are fighting to find dignity and authenticity in the final hours of their lives.

Author: Katie Engelhart
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 03/02/2021
Pages: 352
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 9.50h x 6.40w x 1.20d
ISBN: 9781250201461

About the Author
Katie Engelhart is a reporter and documentary film producer from Toronto, now based in New York City. She is also a National Fellow at New America. Katie has worked as a correspondent for VICE News in London and NBC News in New York. Her writing has appeared far and wide. Formerly, she was a graduate student of History and Philosophy at Oxford University. The Inevitable: Dispatches on the Right to Die is her first book.