Die Smiling

A heart-rending memoir of a family living with motor neurone disease

'A searingly honest tale of love, life and death' – Sarah Wootton, Dignity in Dying

Die Smiling is a rare and intimate account of one man’s journey to Dignitas in Zurich and his ultimate triumph over suffering and disease.

Told with wit and candour, Julie Casson traces her husband Nigel’s extraordinary journey from diagnosis of motor neurone disease to his death.

A successful businessman and father of three, Nigel battles the degenerative disease with boundless courage and gritty good humour, until, faced with the unimaginable torture of a slow, living death – his body a tomb – he takes control. He decides to go to Dignitas to end his life – while he is still able to die smiling.

The family prepares for this enormous logistical and emotional challenge: the gruelling Dignitas process and the 800-mile road trip to Switzerland. They complete it with pragmatism and humour.

As the UK Parliament considers introducing an assisted dying bill, Die Smiling allows supporters of both sides of the debate to go inside a family battling a terminal illness and the difficult journey an individual and close relatives and friends go through at the end of life. It is a frank and loving memoir that explains the reality of MND's cruel symptoms and the experience of going to Dignitas.

Written with the tenderness of With the End in Mind and the joy of Dr Rachel Clarke's Dear Life, this book has stayed in the minds of readers: an intimate portrait of a family, loving life and united in death.

Reader reviews
'It’s written with dazzling honesty and clarity – I salute the courage of his family in writing and sharing it. Take the time to read it no matter what you think. It’s a beautiful story' – MTT

'Julie Casson has written a beautiful memoir. What a remarkable man Nigel was, courageous, fun-loving family man. Julie and her family are unbelievably supportive.' – B2NYC

'Read in 2 days – laughed a lot and cried a lot – truly...