Jean Marmoreo - The Last Doctor : Lessons in Living from the Front Lines of Medical Assistance in Dying

Powerfully honest and compelling, this book tackles the tough questions head on. MAiD is about choice, and these stories capture the truth of those who choose a dignified departure and the wonderful human beings who make it possible. Jean is one of those. In a simple yet profound way Jean makes the case that while MAiD does take away someones life, it first gives it back to them. That is indeed the power of good. Without the brave souls who take the risky, first steps we would have no Medicare,no vaccines in this country. And without their compassion we would not have Medical Assistance in Dying to help those who want autonomy in lifeand in death.

Senator Pamela Wallin, Advocate for MAiD and Advance Requests, Member of the Special Joint Parliamentary Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying

The Last Doctor is a majestic book about the power of kindness and the language of love. It will change forever how you think about medically assisted dying. Your end-of-life self will love, honour, and cherish Dr. Jeans insights.

Dr. Joe MacInnis, author of Deep Leadership

What a truly remarkable book. Characters that come to life with the flick of a pen. Sentences that make one stop, read, reread, and ponder. Dr. Marmoreos commitment, intelligence, fierceness, frustration, humour, and, most importantly, compassion come through on every page. If you want to understand the sometimes messy sometimes tidy, sometimes simple sometimes complex, and always profound world of medical assistance in dyingread this book.

Jocelyn Downie, CM, FRSC, FCAHS, SJD, Professor in the Faculties of Law and Medicine, Dalhousie University

also by dr. jean marmoreo

The New Middle Ages: Women in Midlife

also by johanna schneller

Woman Enough: How a Boy Became a Woman and Changed the World of Sport (co-author)

Mayor Rob Ford: Uncontrollable: How I Tried to Help the Worlds Most Notorious Mayor (co-author)

VIKING

an imprint of Penguin Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited

Canada USA UK Ireland Australia New Zealand India South Africa China

First published 2022

Copyright 2022 by Dr. Jean Marmoreo and Johanna Schneller

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

Wild Geese reprinted from DREAM WORK, copyright 1986 by Mary Oliver. Used by permission of Grove/Atlantic, Inc. Any third party use of this material, outside of this publication, is prohibited.

Recorded for the audiobook with the permission of The Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency as agent for the author. Copyright Mary Oliver 1986 with permission of Bill Reichblum.

www.penguinrandomhouse.ca

library and archives canada cataloguing in publication

Title: The last doctor : lessons in living from the front lines of medical assistance in dying / Dr. Jean Marmoreo and Johanna Schneller.

Names: Marmoreo, Jean, author. | Schneller, Johanna, author.

Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20220142327 | Canadiana (ebook) 20220142688 | ISBN 9780735241077 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780735241084 (EPUB)

Subjects: LCSH: Marmoreo, JeanAnecdotes. | LCSH: Assisted suicideCanada. | LCSH: Assisted suicideCanadaAnecdotes. | LCGFT: Anecdotes.

Classification: LCC R726 .M37 2022 | DDC 616.02/9dc23

Book design by Emma Dolan, adapted for ebook

Cover design and art by Emma Dolan

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For Yolanda Martins,
whose generosity and grace in her quest for a dignified death prompted an inner journey, and this book.

WILD GEESE

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.

Mary Oliver