Stopping Eating and Drinking, a Guide

The aim of this book is to stimulate communication between patients at the end of lives, their relatives, doctors and nurses.These are the people who become involved when elderly or very ill people refuse artificial nutrition and hydration. My hope is to give some peace of mind to people who are very old or ill and who have a well-considered and unwavering wish to die, even after discussing it with their loved ones. This peace of mind will come from the knowledge that they can take control of such a very intimate process as their own death, simply by refusing to drink. Relatives, supervised by an experienced nurse, can provide the mouth care necessary to keep the process bearable. For countless generations, the elderly and ill everywhere in the world have taken this route in silence. Only now, with the know-ledge we have, can it also be made a peaceful and dignified one.