Readings on living and dying – 3 – Denial of the Soul: Spiritual and Medical perspectives on Euthanasia and Mortality

Alan writes – This is a more serious medical, psychological and well-argued look at human death and the life of the soul beyond death.

In his book, Denial of the Soul, Peck argues against euthanasia based on what we learn and how we grow in our dying. He argues against that notion that we should simply plan our death so as to cut off the last few weeks of unpleasantness. Because in two or three or four weeks at the end of your life, with your physical pain controlled by morphine, hopefully in your own home or a hospice, you might learn about "how to negotiate a middle path between control and total passivity, about how to welcome the responsible care of strangers, about how to be dependent once again ... about how to trust and maybe even, out of existential suffering, at least a little bit about how to pray or talk with God.

Nearly a year ago M. Scott Peck died at his home. He was 69 and had Parkinson's disease as well as pancreatic and liver duct cancer.

You can find a more detail review of Peck’s book here. Bill McKibben is the reviewer - "But I've never read anything that made me think more seriously about my own death and what it might involve, and for that I am very grateful. Death -- God willing a long ways away -- scares me a tiny bit less than it did before I picked up this book.”