This book is political propaganda to promote Mr. Humphry's Hemlock Society. It is NOT a useful source of information by any degree.


He botched it   March 21, 1999
 8 out of 17 found this review helpful

The Final Exit, The Practicalities of Self-Deliverance and Assisted Suicide for the Dying, written by Derek Humphry, initially enslaved me into reading with deliberate determination. This book, coupled with my increasing insensitivity to its author's words, compelled me to write this critique. During the course of this paper, I must use the author's words to emphasize my point that he uses crass and blatant insensitivity to suggest there are no alternatives to suicide. While the author gives almost complete attention to how to commit suicide, he gives little attention on how NOT to commit suicide.

In Derek Humphry's introduction to The Final Exit, he tells of the request made by his wife "who could no longer bear the pain and deterioration of her body and the distressed quality of her life from cancer". He writes that his wife said, "Find a doctor who will give us a lethal dose that I can take". Mrs. Humphry's use of the word "us" can only mean that she was concerned about what her health was doing to her husband. This decision was not about her and her alone; the use of the word "us" makes a cognitive effort to include her husband in this decision. The first quote of his wife he uses is not any discussion of the decision, but the cold direction of find an avenue for a lethal dose. The author would have shown more sensitivity to this topic if he had included some of the discussions prior to making "their" final choice of death.

Humphry writes this book with precise, clear, black-and-white distinctions. Because of this, he leaves little room for argument. The coldness with which he writes leaves no alternatives or options for decisions. He focuses only one chapter on the "decision" and only one paragraph to asking "people with suicidal thoughts to share them with family or friends". Humphry continues by listing the "cardinal rules" for helping a loved one die in the chapter entitled Beware of the Law. The law as we know it is black-and-white; there is no room for ambiguity. Humphry's rules are black-and-white, cold and final One of his rules suggests not touching the person during or after suicide. When a loved one dies, it is only natural to want to touch, hold and have physical contact. If Humphry intended the loved one of the person committing suicide to remain without suspicion, he would have had them act naturally instead of leaving the authorities to detect this concrete black-and-white "fingerprint" attitude.

Humphry's chapter, Shopping for the Right Doctor, suggests not taking any chances with your present doctor's views. He asks us not to chance looking at your doctor for assistance just because he is "nice". I believe that a patient's doctor, especially if he has been a patient's doctor for a long time, IS the person with which you should approach about the decision of suicide. Who better can put in perspective what you final decision will be or mean? He is once again clearly defines the lack of options, something that he asked us not to do in the beginning if the book. The title of this chapter is another example of Humphry's lack of warmth for the dying. Shopping is a lackadaisical word that promotes a leisure activity. Shopping for a doctor should not be a leisure activity. I am angered by his suggestion that finding a doctor to help with suicide should be a leisurely activity as "Shopping".

Throughout the remaining chapters, Humphry writes in eighth grade vocabulary. He writes for us as if we are not educated enough to understand alternatives when enacting on the decision we may or may not have already made. Humphry tells us that this book is written for those with serious terminal illnesses and should be read and taken seriously by those people who have already made this decision. This book was on the Bestsellers List. If he really believed that only those people that have already made up their minds to take their lives were the only ones reading it, it would be catastrophic. We would have far less people in the world. I am angered by the style of this book. Although I believe in its concept, I do not believe in the manner in which it was written. Humphry's cold, and "no other option" attitude is an insult to those people contemplating suicide. Making the decision to end one's life IS an educated decision and Humphry would have fared better in my opinion if he discussed this topic with us as if we were educated.

Humphy tells that his chapter The Final Act, is the most important chapter in the book because "you do not want to botch it." This is yet another example of his crass and insensitive use of adjectives. His suggestions that not botching it was the most important thing in the book, angered me into putting this book down for several weeks. I picked this book up after I learned of my best friend's foster son's attempt to kill himself after being arrested for murdering his grandmother. He botched it. I continued to read this book to give the author one more chance to redeem the book's intent and so that I may gain insight into the purpose of his "most important chapter". I continued to be disappointed.

I continued to read his step-by-step instructions of do's and don'ts when killing yourself. I read the amounts and combination of pills to take, they way to tie the plastic bags around our faces, and every possible thing that could go wrong if we botched. I continued to read to the end, wishing for words of wisdom and directions to assist those that may have reached this decision. However, there was no final chapter. There were no words of wisdom for me. He told me how to tie the plastic bag. He even goes on to comment, "Ugh, the plastic bag". How cutesy the use of the word "ugh" is used. The author did not leave us with any discussion, words of wisdom or comfort, nor alternatives. He listed in an index of telephone numbers to call for pain relief and forms to use to make everything tied up in a simple package. He gave us examples of Durable Powers of Attorney and a Living Will. There was no offering of condolences for these choices; I think the author bothced it himself.