New Book, Death With Dignity, Receives Coveted Kirkus Star

Now available in paperback and e-book, "Death With Dignity" provides an in-depth look at how we die in America today. Simply put: "It's the book every mortal should read." Priced at only $0.99, the e-book is almost free. End Quote

A thought-provoking contribution to the debate over this explosive issue. --Kirkus Star Review

(1888PressRelease) May 31, 2011 - Dying in the age of chronic disease is an extremely complicated process that involves a lot of anguish, pain, and suffering. The lucky few will go suddenly. But the remaining 80% will not leave life the way they would have liked to: "at home and without needless suffering." Most of us will die in small steps. We'll find ourselves navigating through a labyrinth of confusing end-of-life choices. We will spend our last days (often years) in sterilized "torture chambers"-hospitals, nursing homes, and even hospices. Yes, the terminally ill needlessly endure torture at the end of their lives.

Robert Orfali's new book "Death with Dignity: The Case for Legalizing Physician-Assisted Dying and Euthanasia" is about how to navigate the maze we call "end of life." This book can serve as a gentle and informed guide to "a good death" in the age of hospice and high-tech medical intervention.

In "Death with Dignity," www.DeathwithDignityBook.com Orfali makes a compelling case for legalized physician-assisted dying. Using the latest data from Oregon and the Netherlands, he puts a fresh new slant on perennial debate topics such as "slippery slopes," "the integrity of medicine," and "sanctity of life." His engaging writing style brings clarity to these issues. The content is thought-provoking; the arguments are well-researched, air-tight, and original.

This extraordinary book provides an in-depth exploration of the shortcomings of our end-of-life system. The reader will learn about terminal torture in hospital ICUs and about the alternatives: hospice and palliative care. With laser-sharp focus, Orfali scrutinizes the good, the bad, and the ugly. He provides an insightful critique of the practice of palliative sedation. The book makes a strong case that assisted dying complements hospice. Oregon, by providing both, now has the best palliative-care system in America.

Kirkus-known in the industry for having the "world's toughest book critics"-has been fighting bad books since 1933. "Books of remarkable merit" are awarded the coveted Kirkus Star. Here's an excerpt from this book's star review:

"Orfali approaches this agonizing subject with common sense informed by extensive research and an acute sensitivity to the dilemmas faced by dying patients and their families and doctors. The result is a thought-provoking contribution to the debate over this explosive issue. A lucid, powerful argument for letting dying patients go gentle into that good night."
- Kirkus Star Review (April 15, 2011)

Robert Orfali, the guru of client/server systems in the early days of Silicon Valley, co-authored three best-selling books that demystified the complexity of these mission-critical systems and made them understandable to a whole new generation of programmers. The books sold over a million copies. In this book, Robert uses his analytical skills to deconstruct the most complex system he has yet encountered: our modern end-of-life system. He wrote this book after helping his soulmate and coauthor, Jeri, navigate her death from ovarian cancer in 2009. The deep emotions Robert felt allowed him to look at how we die from a different perspective, another angle. Robert also wrote "Grieving a Soulmate."

Paperback: 254 pages
Publisher: Mill City Press, Inc.
Publication date: April 15, 2011
ISBN-10: 1936780186
ISBN-13: 978-1936780181

Paperback list price: $14.95
E-book list price: only $ 0.99 "almost free."

Book and e-book available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple Store, and others.
Click here for e-book formats including Kindle, iPad, iPhone, Nook, Android, and others.
Book website: www.DeathwithDignityBook.com

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