Rating: 
Summary: Writing doesn't get any better than this
Review: "Long Goodbye, the Deaths of Nancy Cruzan" by William Colby, published in 2002, is an awesome account of the medical, societal, personal and legal battle for Nancy's right to discontinue life support. Bill Colby, attorney for the Cruzans, took years away from his career to write this book. It is very well written, concise, gripping, and orderly, the 400 pages fly by. The seven year ordeal faced opposition from Missouri Governor Ashcroft, Solicitor General Starr, and Operation Rescue. This is a book that we need to tell our friends about.
Carol Poenisch
Rating:
Summary: Writing doesn't get any better than this
Review: "Long Goodbye, the Deaths of Nancy Cruzan" by William Colby, published in 2002, is an awesome account of the medical, societal, personal and legal battle for Nancy's right to discontinue life support. Bill Colby, attorney for the Cruzans, took years away from his career to write this book. It is very well written, concise, gripping, and orderly, the 400 pages fly by. The seven year ordeal faced opposition from Missouri Governor Ashcroft, Solicitor General Starr, and Operation Rescue. This is a book that we need to tell our friends about.
Carol Poenisch
Rating:
Summary: As thoughtful and compelling a book as you will find.
Review: "The Long Goodbye" tells the story of Nancy Cruzan, a young Missouri women left in a persistent vegetative state by a serious car accident in 1983. The tale is told by attorney William Colby who, together with members of Nancy's family, battled both the medical community and the legal system to ensure that Nancy's right to be free from unwanted medical treatment would be honored. Mr. Colby's artfully crafted work is notable for its care, its compassion, its clarity, and its honesty. Nancy's legacy -- an increased sensitivity to the principle of patient autonomy at the end of life, as exercised by loving, caring family members who know best what a patient unable to make decisions for him- or herself might want -- is a powerful tribute to the Cruzan family's courageous fight.
Rating:
Summary: As thoughtful and compelling a book as you will find.
Review: "The Long Goodbye" tells the story of Nancy Cruzan, a young Missouri women left in a persistent vegetative state by a serious car accident in 1983. The tale is told by attorney William Colby who, together with members of Nancy's family, battled both the medical community and the legal system to ensure that Nancy's right to be free from unwanted medical treatment would be honored. Mr. Colby's artfully crafted work is notable for its care, its compassion, its clarity, and its honesty. Nancy's legacy -- an increased sensitivity to the principle of patient autonomy at the end of life, as exercised by loving, caring family members who know best what a patient unable to make decisions for him- or herself might want -- is a powerful tribute to the Cruzan family's courageous fight.
Rating:
Summary: If you don't read this, it's your loss.
Review: Bill Colby is a passionate writer, and his genuine care and concern for the Cruzan family shines brightly in this book. It raises powerful questions about the status of American law on the topic and the morality of the decisions that you hope you -- or your family -- will never, ever face. P.S. They call it a legal story, but it's not a difficult read. On the contrary, it's very understandable -- no legalese here!
Rating:
Summary: If you don't read this, it's your loss.
Review: Bill Colby is a passionate writer, and his genuine care and concern for the Cruzan family shines brightly in this book. It raises powerful questions about the status of American law on the topic and the morality of the decisions that you hope you -- or your family -- will never, ever face. P.S. They call it a legal story, but it's not a difficult read. On the contrary, it's very understandable -- no legalese here!
Rating:
Summary: A fair and balanced account
Review: Despite this book being written by the lawyer who represented the parents of Nancy Cruzan who wanted feeding apparatus to be withdrawn and thus to have Nancy die, this book presents the issues and the struggle fairly and even-handedly. This is shown in a way since after reading it I conclude the U.S Supreme Court's decision was right--in the circumstances shown the family could without monetary loss have permitted their child to not be starved to death. The account of the trial and of the appellate history of the case is absorbing and shows the author is an able lawyer, admirable in representing his clients. I have no hesitancy in saying if it had been my child I would not have gone to the efforts which Nancy's father went to in order to have his child die. But psychologically Nancy's parents wanted the living death to end and their lawyer was right to seek the relief his clients desired. An extraordinary book.
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Summary: A true tragedy that changed the way we look at death...
Review: During my training as a chaplain at Baylor University Medical Center, it was considered part of the "dues" of training that one would take lots of being on-call at the hospital for handling of emergencies. To that end, there was a "call room" where a chaplain could catch a little sleep, while waiting. On one of those sleepless nights in the call room, I viewed a Frontline special on the story of Nancy Beth Cruzan. She was a young woman, fully alive, who, as a result of a terrible accident, would become a test case for end-of-life matters for years to come. After seeing that special, I was deeply touched by the need to convey what our wishes were for the ends of our lives. The Nancy Beth Cruzan case took the better part of ten years before resolution. The lawyer who fought for her right to be disconnected from the feeding tube was William Colby, the author of this outstanding book. Those of us on the front lines of trying to help families prepare for the issues they will face at the end of life will find insight into the ramifications of that case, as well as grist for the mill of the work that we are doing. Colby is a highly readable author (at times, I felt like I was reading a Grisham novel), the Cruzan's case is deeply compelling, the story is truly tragic, and readers will come away with an appreciation of the law and concepts that are involved in pursuing these matters. There are several important story lines running throughout this volume: There are the lawyers, one who pulls an unexpected punch; the politicians, aiming for re-election; the Cruzans, especially Nancy's father, Joe, a salt-of-the-earth laborer, broken to the core over the loss of his little girl; a common sense probate judge, just trying to do the right thing; and the right-to-life movement (with whom we generally have sympathy, but not in this case). Indeed, under the skillful telling of Mr. Colby, law itself becomes a character, fickle at times, inflexible at others, and, at the last, compassionate. ElderHope heartily recommends this excellent book.
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Summary: A profoundly emotional story
Review: Long Goodbye: The Deaths Of Nancy Cruzan by William H. Colby is the in-depth and true story of a judicial trial concerning Nancy Cruzan, a woman who was thrown from her vehicle and suffered horrific injuries. Since that tragic accident, Nancy has remained in a coma for five years, until her family abandoned hope for her revival and requested the removal of Nancy's feeding tube so her life could end peacefully. But the state intervened and denied the family's wishes. Thus began a extended legal battle began over who had the authority and the right to authorize the end of medical intervention with respect to a patient like Nancy. Long Goodbye is a profoundly emotional story of striving to do what one hopes is the right thing, in accordance with the wishes of those who cannot speak for themselves -- and the role of government to intrude into family and medical issues. This is a profoundly important issue that plays out in our hospitals and nursing homes every day. At the crux of the matter is the right to life, the right to die, and who has the final authority over a loved one caught up in a plight similar to Nancy Cruzan and her family.
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Summary: EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS BOOK.
Review: MR. COLBY HAS WRITTEN A BEAUTIFUL TOUCHING STORY ABOUT THE HEARTBREAK OF A BEAUTIFUL FAMILY. THEY SPENT YEARS TRYING TO GIVE THERE DAUGHTER A DIGNIFIED DEATH. MR. COLBY IS AN ATTORNEY, NOT AN AUTHOR, BUT YOU WOULD NEVER KNOW IT BECAUSE HIS BOOK KEEPS YOU GLUED TO THE PAGES. THE FAMILY IN THIS STORY COULD BE ANYONE OF OURS. I HAVE NEVER MET MR. COLBY BUT, BILL AND MY HUSBAND WERE COUSINS AND I AM VERY PROUD OF HIM. THIS IS ONE "OPRAH" SHOULD PUT ON HER READING LIST. THE WHOLE WORLD COULD LEARN FROM IT.
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