On My Own

In a deeply personal and moving book, the beloved NPR radio host speaks out about the long drawn-out death (from Parkinson€s) of her husband of fifty-four years, and of her struggle to reconstruct her life without him.

With John gone, Diane was indeed €œon her own,€ coping with the inevitable practical issues and, more important, with the profoundly emotional ones. What to do, how to react, reaching out again into the world€"struggling to create a new reality for herself while clinging to memories of the past. Her focus is on her own roller-coaster experiences, but she has also solicited the moving stories of such recently widowed friends as Roger Mudd and Susan Stamberg, which work to expose the reader to a remarkable range of reactions to the death of a spouse.

John€s unnecessarily extended death€"he begged to be helped to die€"culminated in his taking matters into his own hands, simply refusing to take water, food, and medication. His heroic actions spurred Diane into becoming a kind of poster person for the €œright to die€ movement that is all too slowly taking shape in our country. With the brave determination that has characterized her whole life, she is finding a meaningful new way to contribute to the world.

Her book€"as practical as it is inspiring€"will be a help and a comfort to the recently bereaved, and a beacon of hope about the possibilities that remain to us as we deal with our own approaching mortality.