Recommended Readings
Over the years, people have asked us what books we recommend about MAiD and end-of-life decision-making. This is a small collection of titles that we’ve found especially thoughtful, moving, or helpful for understanding the ethical, medical, and human realities of these conversations.
Therese E. Evans
Choosing to Die is one of the most moving personal stories about MAiD we’ve read. Theresa Evans shares the experience of supporting her mother through an assisted death with honesty, compassion, and remarkable clarity. The book offers a rare and deeply intimate look at what it means to accompany someone through the final chapter of their life. It explores love, grief, courage, and the quiet moments of connection that can emerge when families have the time and space to prepare for death together.
Stephanie Green, MD
This Is Assisted Dying by Dr. Stefanie Green offers a compassionate and clear-eyed look at medical assistance in dying from the perspective of a physician who has provided MAiD since it became legal in Canada. Through powerful patient stories, Green helps readers understand not only how MAiD works in practice, but why people seek it. It’s an honest, humane book that cuts through misinformation and brings readers closer to the real experiences of patients, families, and care teams.
Katie Engelhart
The Inevitable: Dispatches on the Right to Die by journalist Katie Engelhart is a deeply reported exploration of the global debate around assisted dying. Through the stories of patients, physicians, and activists, Engelhart examines how people navigate suffering, autonomy, and the limits of medicine at the end of life. Rather than offering simple answers, the book reveals the human complexity behind one of the most morally challenging issues of our time and invites readers to grapple with the realities that shape the right-to-die movement.
Dr. Jean Marmoreo & Johanna Schneller
The Last Doctor: Lessons in Living from the Front Lines of Medical Assistance in Dying offers a thoughtful reflection on what it means to care for people at the end of life. Drawing from real experiences supporting patients through MAiD, the book explores suffering, autonomy, and the responsibility clinicians carry when accompanying someone in their final days. Rather than focusing only on the procedure itself, it reflects on the deeper human questions that arise when medicine reaches its limits and patients seek control, dignity, and peace at the end of life.
David Kessler
In Finding Meaning, grief expert David Kessler expands on the traditional five stages of grief by proposing a sixth: meaning. Drawing on decades of work with grieving families—and his own personal loss—Kessler explores how people can carry grief while still rebuilding purpose and connection in their lives. The book doesn’t promise to erase loss, but it offers a compassionate framework for understanding how meaning, memory, and love can coexist with grief long after someone dies.
Cynthia Clark & Carol Cram
The Many Faces of MAiD: What to Expect When Someone You Know Chooses Medical Assistance in Dying brings together the voices of people who have supported loved ones through a medically assisted death. Through personal stories and reflections, the book explores the wide range of emotions families experience before, during, and after MAiD. Rather than presenting a single perspective, it offers many small glimpses into real experiences, helping readers feel less alone and better prepared for the complex and deeply human journey that can accompany end-of-life decisions.