I read this just before reading 'Terri the Truth', because I was interested in contrasting the story as told from the side of Terri's parents and the story as told by Terri's husband.

I don't read a lot of non fiction, and thought they might be a bit of a slog, but the books - particularly read as a pair - were very gripping and hard to put down.

It's a heartbreakingly sad story. There's a young couple, she collapses one night and ends up in a persistent vegitative state, her husband eventually wants to remove her feeding tube, and her parents fight against this with all they have. It has lots of shadows where the truth will never quite be known - was she bullemic? Was he abusive? How much was it about Terri's life, and how much was it about the million dollar settlement awarded to her for medical malpractise? Did she ever really say she wouldn't want to be left like that? What was her medical condition, when carefully edited videos showed her following things with her eyes and smiling? And it's petrifying for watching how quickly things turn toxic between the warring sides of the family.

You don't often get to see things from both sides, and these books - carefully checked and groomed as I'm sure they are - manage that in a fascinating way. ( )

I hate trying to assign stars to a book like this. It's a very controversial topic, and one that I have strong opinions on. Still, I don't assume that everyone who disagrees with me is wrong, wrong, wrong. I have too much sympathy for all the combatants. I wish there had been a way to work it out peaceably.

There have been four books written by or with the cooperation of the principals in this case. This came out at approximately the same time as Michael Schiavo's Terri: The Truth. It is interesting to see how the two books use the same witness, Cindi Shook, pp. 105-113 of this book and pp. 179-189 of Schiavo's. One might think that there were two different women.

The backbone of this narrative is by Mary Schindler, with other members of the family narrating specific events. This was a trifle confusing at first, but I rapidly got used to it. It reads pretty smoothly and has explanatory notes at the bottom of the page. It includes a section of color family photographs and four affadavits by doctors. Frustratingly enough, there is no index in any of the four books, so it is difficult to compare their handling of specific issues.

The Schindlers have three basic arguments: 1. Terri was not in a persistent vegetative state (PVS); 2. Even if she was in PVS, she left no instructions; 3. Even if she was was in PVS and left clear instructions "There is not now and never has been a 'right' to die" (p.221). That last statement not only makes the other two moot, and but I cannot help but wonder if to the Schindlers and their supporters, it justified saying just about anything in the first two arguments. With all the oversight that the case received, they simply don't convince me of the first two arguments. Michael Schiavo would have to have organized and sustained a large cabal of amoral doctors and judges, beginning before the case became famous and he became a poster-child for right-to-die issues, and continuing through a glare of publicity. Even assuming that they had no morals or professional ethics, Schiavo wasn't a politically powerful man, and the malpractice settlement simply wasn't that large, considering the expenses. If the funds were a trust, can't the state of Florida have an accountant verify how they were spent?

The odd thing is that I sympathize with the Schindlers largely because I disagree with them, i.e., that I believe that Terri Schiavo was in effect dead. I think that the living take precedence over the dead, and for that reason I felt a desire to have Terri's care turned over to her family, since they wanted it so badly. Of course, Michael Schiavo was also alive and entitled to consideration. And according to the law, it is Terri's wishes that matter, something I had trouble keeping in my mind, although I see the reason for it.

The family strikes me as befuddled by grief. Despite their conviction that it really isn't relevant, the Schindlers still insist in the face of the autopsy that the doctors' diagnosis of PVS was wrong, the wild coincidence that it was confirmed is explained by the process of dying. Mary Schindler's description of her daughter as "healthy" is mind-boggling, even if she was at least minimally conscious. It strikes me as both delusional and heart-breaking. Bobby Schindler states: (p. 231): "Remember, most hospitals and many doctors WANT YOU TO DIE. It's convenient that way and much less expensive" [emphasis in the original]. I find that absolutely incredible! I can't imagine how so many people I know, including myself, have walked into those death traps and escaped!

I hope the Schindlers find consolation in their campaigns, but their agenda scares me. I believe that there should be a right-to-die, there is legally a right, I've left written instructions, and I certainly don't want the Schindlers and their ilk harassing my family. I wish the Schindlers all the luck in the world in creating their free hospital for those who want it, but I don't. I wonder which will take precendence: the political campaign or the hospital? I think it should be the latter: if the Schindlers can provide good care, then they might lovingly and gentle change people's minds in individual cases.

Certainly worth reading, but it doesn't convince me. ( )