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Choosing to Die: A Daughter’s Story Of Supporting Her Mother’s End Of Life Through Assisted Death
Win a free kindle copy of this book!
1 day and 14:17:02
100 copies available
U.S. only
“We are quick to talk about the miracle of life when an infant enters this world. I believe the miracle of death carries the same weight and mystery.” -- Theresa Evans
As an ICU nurse, Theresa Evans witnessed death and dying on a regular basis. She considered it a privilege and an honor to be with someone when they died.
And then her own mother chose a date with death.
So begins the extraordinary account of a mother and her three daughters preparing for death while coping with their own grief and impending loss.
As Theresa spends the final three months of her mother’s life putting her mom’s prolific flower garden to rest for winter, the garden becomes a living metaphor, mirroring the intrinsic cycles and timing of both life and death. Botany provides the lens while Theresa’s years as a yoga teacher and clinical somatic educator anchor the emotional and ethical complexities that arise while helping a mother settle her affairs.
Through deeply personal journal entries, Choosing to Die is a masterclass on intentionally and mindfully supporting a loved one who chooses medical assistance in dying. This vivid firsthand experience is useful for caregivers, death doulas, and other professionals and volunteers involved in hospice care and palliative care. Most of all, Choosing to Die is a gift for anyone seeking clarity and compassion in the midst of one of life’s most confounding decisions.
“When Mom wakes from her sleep, we bathe her. Like holy water washing her earthly film away we let layers of life puddle around her pale, fragile, age-marked body…”
As an ICU nurse, Theresa Evans witnessed death and dying on a regular basis. She considered it a privilege and an honor to be with someone when they died.
And then her own mother chose a date with death.
So begins the extraordinary account of a mother and her three daughters preparing for death while coping with their own grief and impending loss.
As Theresa spends the final three months of her mother’s life putting her mom’s prolific flower garden to rest for winter, the garden becomes a living metaphor, mirroring the intrinsic cycles and timing of both life and death. Botany provides the lens while Theresa’s years as a yoga teacher and clinical somatic educator anchor the emotional and ethical complexities that arise while helping a mother settle her affairs.
Through deeply personal journal entries, Choosing to Die is a masterclass on intentionally and mindfully supporting a loved one who chooses medical assistance in dying. This vivid firsthand experience is useful for caregivers, death doulas, and other professionals and volunteers involved in hospice care and palliative care. Most of all, Choosing to Die is a gift for anyone seeking clarity and compassion in the midst of one of life’s most confounding decisions.
“When Mom wakes from her sleep, we bathe her. Like holy water washing her earthly film away we let layers of life puddle around her pale, fragile, age-marked body…”
204 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 3, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 4, 2026
Choosing to Die is a deeply personal memoir as Theresa and her sisters help their mum in the last three months of her life. Their mum is utilizing Canada’s MAID program (Medical Assistance in Dying), and through telling the stories of her final weeks, and in tying in her love of gardening and the flowers around her, I can see how Choosing to Die was a tool in the grieving process.
The book barely focuses on the act of death itself, instead it centers on the lessons learned from her mum and how they cared for one another in her final days. It does not get very deep into the medical science behind it or religion, it is truly centered on family and grief. While the topic of death is incredibly heavy, the book read like a diary, a record of life and moments.
I really appreciated the lack of wavering in the decision, either with Theresa or her mum. There was never a pleading to stay or the book didn’t cover the weight of the decision, it takes place after the date and time are decided and that allowed for it not to dominate the book.
This was incredibly personal and reflective and might not be for everyone but I really appreciated being let in for this little moment.
Choosing to Die was published 03/03/2026 and I received an advanced copy from Netgalley in exchange for my review.
The book barely focuses on the act of death itself, instead it centers on the lessons learned from her mum and how they cared for one another in her final days. It does not get very deep into the medical science behind it or religion, it is truly centered on family and grief. While the topic of death is incredibly heavy, the book read like a diary, a record of life and moments.
I really appreciated the lack of wavering in the decision, either with Theresa or her mum. There was never a pleading to stay or the book didn’t cover the weight of the decision, it takes place after the date and time are decided and that allowed for it not to dominate the book.
This was incredibly personal and reflective and might not be for everyone but I really appreciated being let in for this little moment.
Choosing to Die was published 03/03/2026 and I received an advanced copy from Netgalley in exchange for my review.
March 3, 2026
Thank you Stone Path Press and NetGalley for this ARC, out today.
This is a deeply personal nonfiction account of a daughter and her siblings navigating their mother’s declining health due to COPD — and her decision to pursue MAID (medical assistance in dying).
The book isn’t preachy or judgmental, and it doesn’t dive heavily into medical or legal science. Instead, it focuses on the final three and a half months of her mother’s life. The format reads almost like a journal, capturing the author’s time spent with her mom — intimate, reflective, and emotionally raw.
At times, the narrative feels fragmented. Certain events are only briefly mentioned, and we get snippets rather than fully developed context. That lends authenticity, but it also leaves some gaps that made me pause. I found myself wanting more clarity in places.
One aspect that especially stood out to me was the absence of the author’s husband and daughter at the end — I struggled to understand why they didn’t come to say goodbye in person.
Overall, this is a powerful conversational starter about autonomy, dignity, and the right to choose how we leave this world. It won’t answer every question, but it will certainly spark them.
This is a deeply personal nonfiction account of a daughter and her siblings navigating their mother’s declining health due to COPD — and her decision to pursue MAID (medical assistance in dying).
The book isn’t preachy or judgmental, and it doesn’t dive heavily into medical or legal science. Instead, it focuses on the final three and a half months of her mother’s life. The format reads almost like a journal, capturing the author’s time spent with her mom — intimate, reflective, and emotionally raw.
At times, the narrative feels fragmented. Certain events are only briefly mentioned, and we get snippets rather than fully developed context. That lends authenticity, but it also leaves some gaps that made me pause. I found myself wanting more clarity in places.
One aspect that especially stood out to me was the absence of the author’s husband and daughter at the end — I struggled to understand why they didn’t come to say goodbye in person.
Overall, this is a powerful conversational starter about autonomy, dignity, and the right to choose how we leave this world. It won’t answer every question, but it will certainly spark them.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Such a beautifully written and expressed book about one woman’s experience when her mother, declining in health, chooses MAID- medically assisted in death. The author started a journal 3 months prior to the day her mother had chosen to transition, November 15th, her 80th birthday. Much of the experience was also shared with her two sisters as the day drew nearer. This was in Canada, the US has something similar in some states, but it is much more restricted as to how it’s done. In Canada it’s done using a physician (retired) and is done intravenously. In the US, apparently the patient has to take a lot of pills (90 to 100) dissolved in water, which risks vomiting all or part of it back up, with uncertain results.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews