A Petrolia author is sharing her family's experience of saying "goodbye" to a loved one by way of medically assisted death.
Dawn Stilwell's latest book, Jennifer’s Choice: A Right To Die Story, was officially released on January 31.
Stilwell's younger sister, Jennifer Ellis died at the age of 50 on November 13, 2021 under the care of The Hospice of Windsor and Essex County. Ellis chose to die by way of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) in order to end an 18-month battle with metastatic breast cancer. She died in her mother's arms, with her sisters and best friend present in her apartment.
During this incredibly difficult time, Stilwell penned in a grief journal which led to the creation of her book.
"That was helping me to process my emotions because it wasn't an easy thing to go through," she said.
"I had been journaling for some time and I thought 'You know what, what I'm writing here could potentially help someone else.' I kept that notion in the back of my mind and shortly after Jennifer passed and I was still journaling, I decided, I think I'm going to write another book."
Stilwell said while most people know someone whose life has been touched by cancer, not everyone has watched a loved one consider the prospect of a medically assisted death.
"The process of Jennifer deciding to do this and then eventually going through with it, and the family being a witness to all that... It was a difficult thing to go through. It was a path we were all on and knew we couldn't get off," said Stilwell.
Although MAID has been legal in Canada since 2016, with additional changes made in 2021, Stilwell said it was difficult to find information about it to help cope with what her family was about to face.
"Everybody runs to Google to find more information on topics and there's not as much out there as you think there might be, not as far as first-hand stories go," Stilwell said. "I'd like people to become more educated about it and start that discussion."
Stilwell and her siblings are from Dover Centre. As the two sisters grew up and moved to different areas of southwestern Ontario, they still remained close.
"She had moved to Windsor to go to school when she was 18 and she stayed, but we always stayed fairly close over the years," said Stilwell. "I always knew I could call her up and have a sympathetic ear and a few laughs."
Jennifer’s Choice: A Right To Die Story can be purchased through Amazon and multiple other platforms.
Stilwell said she doesn't hold anything back in the book.
"It's probably not an easy read but if this is something that someone in your family is looking at or if you're thinking maybe this is an option for you down the road, this will show the impact that it has on family and friends," she said.
A portion of the book's proceeds will be donated to the Windsor hospice.