Especially given the circumstances of a degenerative illness, “peaceful” seems like an indispensable criterion for the “best” death.

This is about the author's mother's illness and death, and her mixed emotions during and afterwards, some of them entirely unexpected.

Anecdotally, young men were more fancy-free about their answers, while the older folks and women I spoke with gave more measured answers or sat quietly. In this astonishing essay, De Beauvoir chronicles the last few weeks of her mother’s life; a short period of time impossibly drawn out.

Death is anything but easy for all involved, but de Beauvoir explores the ways we desensitise ourselves from death and how we process and habitualise end of life care to get through it. Between her fits of anger she was perpetually singing, gossiping, making jokes, drowning her heart's complaints with noise. Jim Cleary, a physician in Madison, Wisconsin, specializes in palliative care, cancer-related pain relief, and discussing difficult diagnoses with patients.

Some of Grube’s allies prefer the term “physician-assisted dying,” while others talk about the “ right to die. I don’t know what ultimately drove her to publish this all I can say is that it has an incredible force. In every decade of my life since my 20s, I have been awed, confused, intrigued and inspired by Simone de Beauvoir’s attempt to live with meaning, pleasure and purpose. But if your family doesn’t know you’re dead — dad goes for a walk or run and doesn’t come back — is that good for them? If you are not a child or adult at risk, we respect your freedom to make your own decisions, including the decision to take your own life.