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The Kindest Thing by Cath Staincliffe


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A love story, a modern nightmare and an honest and incisive portrayal of a woman who honours her husband's wish to die and finds herself in the dock for murder.

 

When Deborah reluctantly helps her beloved husband Neil end his life and conceals the truth, she is charged with murder. As the trial unfolds and her daughter Sophie testifies against her, Deborah, still reeling with grief, fights to defend her actions.

 

Twelve jurors hold her fate in their hands, if found guilty she will serve a life sentence. Deborah seeks solace in her memories of Neil and their children and the love they shared.

 

An ordinary woman caught up in an extraordinary situation.

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I have just finished reading this and boy was it good!! One of my favourite reads of the year without a shadow of a doubt.

 

I came across it not long after reading Me Before You by JoJo Moyes earlier on in the year. That book blew me away and when I stumbled across this and read the back cover I thought I'd give it a try. This is nothing like Me Before You. Yes its about a man who wants to kill himself but that's the only similarity.

 

I hadn't heard of Cath Staincliffe before but she's a crime writer who has even wrote hit crime dramas for ITV. Therefore I wouldn't class this as chick lit or romance unlike Me Before You.

 

The story is based around Deborah who assisted in the suidice of her husband who was dying of motor neurone disease and the court case surrounding it. There are flash backs and memories of her life with her husband and family before all this happened throughout the court hearing. Staincliffe paints a clear picture of what it must be like in real life to be behind bars and standing trial in court for murder.

 

I didn't know much about motor neurone disease before this but Staincliffe has really done her research. The writing is fantastic. Not too much of a heavy read or too taxing but not light hearted at the same time. A good balance.

 

Your husband is wasting away and getting weaker by the day. His loosing the function of his arms / legs and eventually runs the chance of choking on his own saliva as well as loosing the ability to be able to talk. There is no cure and within the space of 4-6 years from diagnosis he will die. He doesn't want to end up in a hospice but wants to die in his bed with his wife of 30+ years beside him and wants to choose the right moment before he deteriorates too much.

 

The question is what would you do if in the same situation???

 

It really makes you think. Face a life behind bars for murder by carrying out the wish of your dying husband or watch him deteriorate knowing it's not what he wants and that he doesn't want to be here. I urge you to read and make up your own opinion!!!

 

I cannot wait to read another of her books 5*+ from me!!

Edited by Star
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I read this last year, and it also threw up a lot of questions for me, not all of which I am unfamiliar with, since I work in a nursing home and sadly see this sort of thing quite often - the deterioration at least. To the best of my knowledge, none of our residents have ever expressed a wish for euthenasia, and while I cannot in all honesty say that I know what I would do, I do know that euthenasia is something that I am very much in favour of. I say this having had first hand experience of watching someone that I love (my Dad) die of cancer during my teens. I have never forgotten what he said to my mother, that if he was a dog or a cat they would have put him out of his misery, and that animals were treated better than humans in this regard. I know it is controversial, and not everyone will agree with me, but I think he was and is right. For me it is not so much a legal issue (although it is the illegality of it that would I suspect make most people hesitate) but a moral and ethical one - is it right to perpetuate someone's suffering, when it is clear that there is no hope of improvement, and they have made it clear also that they wish to leave their body (die).

 

I suppose it also depends on your spiritual beliefs, especially regarding our purpose for being here and what life is actually about. I know that this is not something again that many people (really) think about, but those of us who are in the health profession, due to the very nature of this work, tend to think of these things a lot more than others, so for me at least, this is also relevant. If you believe as I do that they body is just a shell that our spirit inhabits, as a means of self expression, then you understand that death is just a transition to the next stage, and it can therefore be seen as just another part of our journey. The body may die but the spirit that inhabits that body does not. It is is many ways then a blessed release. BUT having said all of this, I know that people have differing views, and many will think and feel very differently.

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What did you think of the book Talisman?

 

I'm sorry to hear about your dad & I must take my hat off to you for your line of work. It must be very difficult at times and takes a very strong person to do that kind of job. I admire you and nurses etc. what a wonderful job you all do.

 

I too agree that anyone should have the right to choose if & when they die especially if the outcome is terminal.

I also agree with the comment about the dogs/cats and I've always said the same. Who are we to say we'll put an animal down to put it out of its misery yet we don't have the same right to make that decision for our self!!

 

I understand that its a controversial topic and that if it was legalized there would be all sorts going on i.e. bumping people off to get at their money etc. but if someone is terminally ill and they don't want to suffer and sit around waiting and worrying about when the time comes and if it'll be painful etc. and they are too sick to end their own life and want the assistance of a loved one then I think each case should be looked into individually.

 

I too don't know what I would do. It must be an awful position to be in and I do think in the book Neil (Deborah's husband) was selfish to put her in that situation but I understand why he did it and it does happen.

 

It really does make you think. Especially as someone says to Deborah at the end of the book 'Anyone would of done the same if in the same situation' and I happen to think that yes they probably would for the person they love but a very brave person it would take.

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Certainly you would as you say need to be a very brave person, and I am not sure in all honesty, that I could and would be that brave, and yet to do nothing is also in its own way an act of bravery.

 

I take on board everything you say about possible abuse in the system, but I don't feel that this is a reason not to show compassion and change the law - one has to look at what is in the interests of the majority, the majority in this case being those who may be in need of such help. This is not to say that it is acceptable that even one person dies at the hands of one who seeks to end that life for their own ends, but one has to get things in perspective, there is I feel more to gain for those who are suffering than there is to lose for the relatively small risk that something untorward may happen. The best we can do is put safeguards in place (for example, requesting the person concerned to sign something to the effect that this is their wish) to minimise the risks and ensure that a qualified medical practitioner is present. This is though, as the population ages, something that we will see discussed more and more.

 

As for the book - I thought it tackled a very sensitive subject in a sensitive and thought provoking way that will hopefully prompt much further discussion and debate.

Edited by Talisman
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  • 2 weeks later...

I've read Split Second by her, and that was also good.

Three youths gang up on Luke on a bus. They are challenged by a bystander, Jason, and a fight breaks out – which ends up with Jason fatally stabbed, and Luke critically ill in hospital.

The book follows what happens during and after, and is told from the point of view of Jason’s father, Luke’s mother, and Emma, a witness on the bus.

For me, the key to this book was the way it was written – the characters are very human, and the emotions are laid out in front of the reader. There’s no over-use of emotions, designed to tug at the heart-strings, but rather a raw emotion – honest and heartbreaking.

Whilst I expected the parent’s stories to be the most important, it was Emma’s which really caught my attention, the sort of person usually ignored in these circumstances, a witness who has to deal with her own decisions, as well as her own life.

In that split second, what would you do?

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It's now on my TBR pile, I know I'm not supposed to be buying books at the mo but I thought this might be a good suggestion for a near future book club read.. :smile::readingtwo::smile:

 

Ha Ha that was quick.

Great idea btw. It would undoubtedly get people talking and will raise some very interesting views.

 

 

Thanks Michelle I'll look out for that. Sounds good. I really enjoyed her style of writting.

I've not read any crime novels before.

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