Episode Details
Back to Episodes
Choosing to Die: Teresa Evans on MAID, Anticipatory Grief, and Showing Up at the End of Life
Description
Angela welcomes author and ICU nurse Theresa Evans to discuss her book, "Choosing to Die: A Daughter's Story of Supporting Her Mother's End of Life Through Assisted Death." Theresa shares how witnessing death as a nurse shaped her views, and how her perspective deepened when her mother, after years with end-stage heart failure and COPD, chose medical assistance in dying (MAID) on her 80th birthday. They explore the importance of having end-of-life conversations early, the complexities and empowerment involved in MAID, and the emotional toll of anticipatory grief when a date and time are known. Theresa describes tending her mother’s garden as a healing metaphor for life and death, explains her mother’s Catholic faith and clarity about her choice, and outlines her advocacy and outreach through podcasts, Compassion and Choices, and her website.
https://www.facebook.com/StonePathPress/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresa-evans-rn-ryt-500-03171757/