Review of Shaking Hands With Death by Terry pratchett

In December 2007 Terry Pratchett was diagnosed with Posterior Cortical Atrophy (PCA), a rare form of Alzheimer’s disease. The conclusion was inevitable but Terry was not going to go quietly. He researched, and in turn encouraged scientific research into, the subject meticulously, considered his options, and very thoroughly looked into the subject of assisted dying – of being able, under certain circumstances, to choose for yourself how and when you meet your end.

He became a champion for choice on such matters, that a person should, when the end was so inevitable and likely to be painful or at least very distressing, have available to them the ability to end their life under their own terms, with peace and dignity. He did not believe, given the abilities of modern medicine to prevent actual dying almost for ever, that life must be preserved under all circumstances, no matter how poor the quality of that life was for the person. He wrote articles and made television documentaries on the subject. He was far from advocating that everyone should be forced to ‘go now’ but he was adamant that they should have the choice, should they choose to do so, to be able to take an earlier departure under full, caring, medical assistance and supervision.

He was invited to give the Richard Dimbleby Lecture for 2010 and so he talked about life and death and, of course, choice. He called his talk Shaking Hands With Death and it was broadcast on BBC1 on 1st February 2010, from the Royal College of Physicians. I remember watching it and was deeply touched. It was serious, being about the reality of life and death, but was enlivened throughout by his trademark humour. Due to his condition it became obvious on the day that he would be unable to present the talk himself so, after making his own introduction, he passed the task on to a stunt Terry Pratchett in the form of his old friend Tony Robinson (who had arrived early, expecting to be in the audience). Tony rose to the occasion and it was as if Terry himself was at the lectern, whereas he was sitting in the front row, unable to suppress the occasional smile as knew what the next line had to say.

The text of the talk was published in A Slip of the Keyboard (2014) and it is repeated in this new little book (small enough that it fits in the back pocket of my jeans). It opens with a 13-page Introduction by Rob Wilkins (Terry’s personal assistant for twenty years) and finishes with a 4-page Afterword by Peter Serafinowicz (who read the part of Death in Discworld audiobooks). The text of the talk is 41 pages.

There are those who support assisted dying for those that choose it and there are those who oppose it, saying that any form of killing people is wrong and that all the care that one might need is available. But, as Terry asks, is that care, the necessary care, truly there for everyone – and is it really the answer for everyone?

It is a talk well worth reading. Whether or not you agree with Terry’s thoughts and beliefs, you will be better informed and that itself is a good thing. It is my opinion that everyone who is against assisted dying should read the talk in order to better understand the arguments in favour of it - after that it is, of course, a matter of personal choice as to which side of the debate you are on. If you are still against assisted dying in any form then at least you have, hopefully, taken account of and understood other views. And that is what Terry asked for.

I commend this book, the talk within it, as something that should be read by everyone who has any interest in the subject. And remember, one day it might be you that is facing such a choice – do you want your hands tied by the decisions of others or the freedom to make your own choice, for your own reasons?

Non-Fiction Reviews

Shaking Hands With Death