Before We Say Goodbye

Eighty-four years old and terminally ill with cancer, psychiatrist Pat Ferguson wants nothing more than for her life, which no longer brings her joy, to be over. But when her ailing body refuses to let go, she asks her son Sean to do the unthinkable: to help her to die.

Before We Say Goodbye is Sean Davison’s personal account of the months he spent with his mother before her death. Written as a diary, it candidly recounts Davison’s emotional struggle during that time, the tension between members of their family and his ultimate decision to grant his mother’s last request and end her suffering.

This touching, honest and thought-provoking memoir will resonate not only with countless families who have found themselves in a similar position, but with all of us who may one day have to face that choice: a choice that, for Sean Davison, would come to have life-changing consequences.