I would never have walked through the bookstore and bought this book, however, I am glad I read it. It is definitely a book that makes you think about life and death differently. It is also a good insight into mother/daughter relationships and I also got a reminder that you really don't know about someone fully and that there are many reasons as to why someone is the way they are. Definitely thought provoking and a good read.

I went into reading this book with hopes of learning something from someone's experience. Unfortunately I only found my self annoyed with the author. The Mother/Daughter relationship seemed to have never 'grown-up'. I had a difficult time feeling sympathy or empathy for the author and became bored with her self pitty. I think my frustration with her colored my view of the book as a whole.

I am glad I read this book, but I found it often slow and generally hopeless. I thought some of the incidents in the author's own childhood were more interesting than the main topic of the book: her mother's plan to end her life. It is, however, a useful reflection on how the lives and families of the daughters are affected by the situation. I was also left unconvinced that the mother was brave and courageous as the author attempted to portray her. We are left with the impression that there would be very little conflict if only assisted suicide were acceptable in the eyes of the law.

This book is from the unique perspective of knowing the 'how' and 'when' of someone's death ... I have to say dealing with a very similar situation in my life I was happy to get another person's snapshot of this particular life path. You behave and act in a way that normal people just don't understand; it does take a strong person to be able to want to tackle the hard questions. I might not agree with the viewpoint on life that the author/mother took but this book is very much needed for others having the burden of that type of knowledge.