Set in Thunder Bay, Ontario, this story follows the lives of four different families as they navigate the emotional complications of terminal illness, growing up, and death.

We are introduced to Isla, her newborn Maddie and her husband Dave, as their lives are forever changed by the lump found in Isla’s breast; Pam, a mature woman who has been tethered to an oxygen machine during her enduring battle with cancer and COPD; and Jan and Rick, a married couple who have been struggling with staying afloat under the stress of Rick’s recent severe diagnosis.

All of the roads lead back to Beth, a compassionate palliative nurse who is dedicated to making the passageway to death as serene an experience as it can believe, acting under the belief that death is the one certainty in life. As she guides her own patients, she struggles with the anxiety resulting from the death of her husband and her previously-sheltered daughter Sarah moving hours away to university.

A tear-jerking novel about addiction, terminal illness, MAID, and living your life until your very last moments, The Best Way To Die helps us understand the inevitable light at the end of the tunnel and how to accept it.

Dr. Courtney Manser is a Palliative Care specialist in the Niagara Region. She is also a medical writer and has written for several health magazines, both online and in print, including SheKnows, Parents Canada and Todays Parent. She is an educator of medical students, residents, allied health professionals and the general public and is passionate about sharing knowledge in an easy to understand, non-intimidating manner both in person and in print. She also has experience with quality improvement, having successfully completely one of her own practice. Along with her partner, she helped develop an expansive community palliative program in the Niagara Region and would love to offer her knowledge in healthcare start-up.

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