The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log

(Sir Terry Pratchett. In the garden with the brandy. From his article in the Daily Mail. Photograph copyright Les Wilson.)

There’s a Terry Pratchett feature and article on the Daily Mail website written earlier this week dealing with the difficult and emotive issue of assisted suicide. His comments come in the wake of the ruling in the House Of Lords over the case of Debbie Purdy (BBC) and, as you might expect from Terry Pratchett, it’s impassioned, emotive and most of all a shining light of simple, plain, reasonable common sense.

As you probably know, Pratchett, 61, was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers disease in 2007 and has since become a very public advocate of greater research and greater understanding of the disease. And although it’s sad to hear the man talk about the day he will decide he wants to end his life when the disease takes it’s toll and takes his words away it’s also a very positive and thought provoking piece.

It’s a difficult issue for many people, but assisted suicide is going to become more and more pertinent as our modern society continues to win the battle to live longer and longer without having the weaponry to combat many of the diseases of old age. Pratchett’s words, reasoned and perfectly argued, make absolute, perfect sense to me. Whatever your views on this subject this is something worth reading.

“We are being stupid. We have been so successful in the past century at the art of living longer and staying alive that we have forgotten how to die. Too often we learn the hard way. As soon as the baby boomers pass pensionable age, their lesson will be harsher still. At least, that is what I thought until last week.

Now, however, I live in hope – hope that before the disease in my brain finally wipes it clean, I can jump before I am pushed and drag my evil Nemesis to its doom, like Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty locked in combat as they go over the waterfall.

In any case, such thinking bestows a wonderful feeling of power; the enemy might win but it won’t triumph.”

And, of course, Pratchett manages to put his point across and make us smile:

I am enjoying my life to the full, and hope to continue for quite some time. But I also intend, before the endgame looms, to die sitting in a chair in my own garden with a glass of brandy in my hand and Thomas Tallis on the iPod – the latter because Thomas’s music could lift even an atheist a little bit closer to Heaven – and perhaps a second brandy if there is time.

Oh, and since this is England I had better add: ‘If wet, in the library.”