Sean Davison made headlines in 2010 when he was arrested for aiding his mother's death. Eighty-four years old and terminally ill with cancer, medical doctor and 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.
In November we publish After We Said Goodbye, Davison’s personal account of the years following the publication of the first book.
About the author
Sean Davison was born in Auckland New Zealand and spent most of his childhood on the West Coast, gaining a doctorate in microbiology at the University of Otago. He is Professor of Biotechnology at the University of the Western Cape in Cape Town where he heads the DNA Forensics Laboratory which has initiated a project to prove the innocence of people wrongfully convicted of crimes by using DNA testing that was not available at the time of their conviction. Sean is married to his wife Raine, and the couple have two young boys.
Find out more about Before We Say Goodbye.