In the Arms of Others: A Cultural History of the Right-to-Die in America - Hardcover

Filene begins by introducing his reader to the 19th-century tradition of the "good death" (the literal translation of the word "euthanasia"). At a time when disease was usually incurable, he explains, a gentle death, often involving drugs in "as large a dose as needed for a peaceful passing," was the best an ill person could hope for. Using the Karen Ann Quinlan case as a benchmark, the author then sifts through the late-20th-century issues around dying, drawing in the reader with stories of people who have themselves faced modern dying's dilemmas.

"Modern medicine," says the author, "produced modern dying"; no longer always a single event, but a "prolonged process," requiring deliberation and decision-making for doctors, families, judges, and the dying themselves. Faced with this process, the author and his subjects ask: "How can we die with dignity?" This intelligent, compassionate, finely written book is Filene's contribution towards an answer. --Maria Dolan