The Inevitable

A deeply reported exploration of the right-to-die underground, where ordinary people plan their final hours, far beyond the boundaries of laws and hospital ethics committees.

More states and countries are passing right-to-die laws that allow the sick and suffering to end their lives at pre-planned moments, with the help of physicians. But even where these laws exist, they leave many behind. In The Inevitable, veteran journalist Katie Engelhart moves beyond the margins of the law to the people meticulously planning their final hours—far from medical offices, legislative chambers, and polite conversation. She also shines a light on those who help them: loved ones and, sometimes, clandestine groups on the Internet that together form the "euthanasia underground."

Engelhart focuses on six people representing different aspects of the right-to-die debate, including two doctors: a California physician who runs a boutique assisted death clinic and has written more lethal prescriptions than anyone else in the U.S., and an Australian named Philip Nitschke who lost his medical license for teaching people how to end their lives painlessly at "DIY Death" workshops. The other four chapters belong to people who said they wanted to die because they were suffering unbearably—of old age, chronic illness, dementia, and mental anguish—and saw suicide as their only option.

Spanning North America, Europe, and Australia, The Inevitable offers a fearless look at a morally tangled subject. It introduces readers to ordinary people fighting to find dignity and authenticity in the final hours of their lives, in this nuanced, empathetic, and well-crafted work of journalism.