The Last Doctor: Lessons in Living from the Front Lines of Medical Assistance in Dying

An urgently important exploration of the human stories behind Canada’s evolving acceptance of Medical Assistance in Dying, from one of its first and most thoughtful practitioners.

Dr. Jean Marmoreo spent her career keeping
people alive. But when the Supreme Court of Canada gave the green light to medical
assistance in dying (MAiD) in 2016, she became one of a small group of doctors who
chose to immediately train themselves in this new field. Over the course of a single year, Marmoreo learns about
end-of-life practices in bustling Toronto hospitals, in hospices, and in the facilities of smaller communities. She found that the needed services were often minimal–or non-existent.

The Last Doctor recounts Marmoreo’s crash course in MAiD and introduces a range of very different and memorable patients, some aged, some suffering from degenerative conditions or with a terminal disease, some surrounded by supportive love, some quite alone, who ask her help to end their suffering with dignity and on their own terms.

Dr. Marmoreo also shares her own emotional transformation as she climbs a steep learning curve and learns the intimate truths of the vast range of end-of-life situations. What
she experiences with MAiD shakes her to her core, makes her think
deeply about pain, loneliness, and joy, and brings her closer to life’s most
profound questions.

At a time when end-of-life care and its quality are more in the public eye than ever before, The Last Doctor provides an accessibly personal, deeply humane, and authoritative guide through this difficult subject.