Damned if I Do

by Philip Nitschke, Peter Corris

This is the revealing, personal story of the man behind the controversial pro-euthanasia movement, told in his own words.

Medical doctor, humanist, author and founder/director of Exit International, Philip Nitschke's life has always been in the spotlight. The books spans Philip's early days, from his curious, activist student days in Adelaide, to working with Aboriginal land rights groups in Australia's Far North; to his successful campaign to have euthanasia legalised in Australia and his assistance in four people ending their lives before the law was overturned. It covers the controversy surrounding Philip's work, including the banning in Australia of his international bestselling book The Peaceful Pill, and disturbing reports that many young people overdosed on Nembutal, the drug that Exit International recommends for suicide.

Ultimately, Philip believes that the right to one's own death is as fundamental as the right to control one's own life: ‘It seems we demand humans to live with indignity, pain and anguish whereas we are kinder to our pets when their suffering becomes too much.'

Genres: Biography, Autobiography

208 pages, Paperback

First published September 2, 2013

About the author

Philip Nitschke is an Australian humanist, author, former physician, and founder and director of the pro-euthanasia group Exit International.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_...

Reviews

[Diane in Australia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Philip tells of his life from boyhood through to his becoming a leader in the pro-euthanasia movement. It wasn't a very in-depth look, so, a bit disappointing.

He has also written a book that is banned in Australia, The Peaceful Pill Handbook.

3 Stars = Okay. Glad I read it.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received from Netgalley for review.

I’d never heard of Australian Philip Nitschke before, and after reading this autobiography I’m surprised by that, as he is obviously a figure of considerable controversy and a larger-than-life character. He is a doctor, the founder of Exit International, and author of the best-selling guide to euthanasia, The Peaceful Pill. He believes that everyone has the right to end his or her life when they feel the time is right, and should be permitted to do so safely and with dignity. This view, of course, has aroused much opposition, but Nitschke is not one to shy away from controversy. All his life he has been an activist and concerned with political and social issues, from his early days working with Aboriginal land rights groups to his successful campaign to have euthanasia legalised in Australia, only to see the law later overturned.
The book is his revealing and honest personal story. From his unhappy childhood to a series of ultimately unsuccessful relationships and the fathering of a child, his career as a scientist and doctor, to his current passionate leadership of Exit International, he offers a candid picture of his life and work. I found the book absolutely fascinating and learnt a lot from it, not only about Nitschke himself and his campaign, but also about politics and social attitudes in Australia, and to what extreme and ridiculous lengths governments sometimes go to suppress the right to die. Nitschke writes clearly and his passion shines through on every page. Whatever your own personal views on the subject may be, this is a book everyone should read, whether to argue or agree with him. At the very least you will be enlightened on this most difficult of subjects.

[Carol - Reading Writing and Riesling · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me this book is part biography and part history of Nitschke’s involvement with the Voluntary Euthanasia movement in Australia and beyond. I really enjoyed the personal no holds barred stories of the larrikin adventurer Philip Nitschke - his life as student, his time as a gardener come activist at Wave Hill cattle station, as a Park Ranger, student again, tram conductor, doctor, sailor and pro euthanasia advocate are intriguing and fascinating reads. This man takes responsibility for his actions and the direction of his life (although at times he doesn’t appear to quite know what his destination is, his journeys are always interesting, full of pranks, liaisons, experiments, curiosity and questioning.) I really enjoyed this part of the book.

Nitschke’s involvement with the Exit and the Voluntary Euthanasia debate seems to have shaped/become his personal and business life. The frustrations, the politics, the court actions and the controversy surrounding his day to day actions are listed in great detail. It seems this man has become his life’s work – the quintessential advocate for the Voluntary Euthanasia movement. I know who I’d want on my side if I ever was in the position of needing assistance to end my life.

A very interesting read

[Andrew Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars - not because it was superbly written (very agreeable but nothing more) or contains a clearly laid-out and justified philosophy of a right to death (it does have the author's clear views but not in an academic structure) but because of its lack of pretension and it's authenticity. I picked it up because I want to engage with issues about voluntary euthanasia, and found out about a very interesting life (that includes a PhD in Physics - I share a physics background but not to the same level). I think there is room for an updated version of this book in the next few years.

[Stan Fleetwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely one of the (mentally) bravest people I've met.

[Kaori Hilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

To me this book was a "must" read when contemplating on death. I agree with the author's opinion that every one should know the every option available to exit. Not to run away from challenges, but to choose the best way.

[Heather Browning · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always vaguely known about Nitschke's work, but after seeing him speak a couple of years ago, I became really interested. I completely agree with his position about end-of-life choices, and am still surprised about how hard some people seem to fight against it. This book has a simple, conversational style (which made more sense once I read that it had mostly come from interviews) and goes into a lot of Nitschke's background, which I had known very little about.

[Peta · Rating 3 out of 5]

I certainly agree with the man's stance and life's work in general, and I think that he possesses "balls of steel" to have managed to carry on despite some really quite insane opposition. On this point I would like to express my opinion that his being struck off the Medical Register was unfair and largely "political". The fact that the Australian Government has seen fit to install all manner of Censorship under the guise of "protecting us from Terrorism" - when patently any protection from said terrorism is a happy if unlikely consequence of a level of censorship** certain Dictators would probably have been jealous of makes my blood boil...

This aside, I'm afraid to say that I was disappointed by this book (especially given that Peter Corris had a hand in it!). My primary complaint is that there was far too much of the book spent on the details of Nitschke's childhood, youth, and love life and not nearly enough on the "guts" of the man's polarizing career. Perhaps there were legal reasons for this - but the length and tone of the autobiographical sections bordered on narcissm at several points, in my humble opinion anyway.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed the opportunity to read about the opposition to Voluntary Euthanasia from Dr Nitschke's point of view. It was the reason I bought the book in the first place, after all. Perhaps one day he will be able to publish a far more frank and comprehensive account of it in Australia.

I look forward to a time when our politicians stop using intellectually lazy Strawman arguments against Voluntary Euthanasia (my least favourite is the Slippery Slope Fallacy). You know - "If we legalize VOLUNTARY Euthanasia with intrinsic safety regulations to ensure that only the cognitively unimpaired can have access to it, the next thing we know the 'Ageing Population' here will feel pressured into no longer being 'a burden to others'. Then families will start 'conspiring to bump Granny off in order to Inherit early'!".

I also look forward to a time when I can theoretically choose to end my own life in a dignified manner, but I feel that thats another matter entirely...
**The description of the lunacy involved in practically reintroducing public Book Burnings to Australia provided one of the more amusing anecdotes