Death and dying

Published on: December 8, 2016

Death, History, Law, Experience (book)

By Laura Orr

Oregon author: “Death: An Oral History,” a book by Casey Jarman:

Publisher Comments:
“In this illuminating collection of oral-history style interviews, Casey Jarman talks to a funeral industry watchdog about the (often shady) history of the death trade; he hears how songwriter David Bazan lost his faith while trying to hold on to his family; he learns about cartoonist Art Spiegelman using his college LSD trips to explain death to his children; and he gets to know his own grandparents, posthumously. These are stories of loss, rebuilding, wonder, and wild speculation featuring everyone from philosophers to former death row wardens and hospice volunteers. In these moving, enlightening, and often funny conversations, the end is only the beginning….” [Link to publisher’s website.]

Published on: October 7, 2014

Oregon Death with Dignity Law in Action

By Laura Orr

“Terminally Ill 29-Year-Old Woman: Why I’m Choosing to Die on My Own Terms,” by Nicole Weisensee Egan, 10/6/14, People dot com

“…. After researching all her options after her diagnosis, Maynard, who was living in San Francisco at the time, decided aid in dying was her best option.

Her entire family moved with her to Portland earlier this year so she could have access to Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act, which has been in place since late 1997. Since then, 1,173 people have had prescriptions written under the act, and 752 have used them to die.

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Published on: December 17, 2012

A Broken Heart Still Beats

By Laura Orr

“A Broken Heart Still Beats: After Your Child Dies,” by Anne McCracken and Mary Semel, 1998.

Two women who lost their children turned to literature when self-help, memoir, and other sources of solace didn’t fill void.

This is a heartbreaking, but beautiful collection of writings, annotated by the editors, including this one by William Wordsworth, whose daughter Catherine died at age 4:

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Published on: July 27, 2007

Oregon Medical Malpractice & Physician-Assisted Suicide

By Laura Orr

The latest Willamette Law Review, Summer 2007 (to be posted here in time), has several articles (comments) on Oregon law, including these two:

Hedrick, Valerie, “The Medical Malpractice Crisis: Bandaging Oregon’s Wounded System and Protecting Physicians”

Elliott, Michael S., “The Commerce of Physician-Assisted Suicide: Can Congress Regulate a ‘Legitimate Medical Purpose’?”

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