Ep. 361 Exploring End-of-Life Controversies Through Fiction Writing with John Byrne Barry

End-of-Life University

Learn about a novel that explores the moral dilemma of a son whose father asks him to end his suffering by hastening his death.

My guest John Byrne Barry is a writer, designer, actor, pickleball player, and crossing guard. He is the author of the novel When I Killed My Father: An Assisted-Suicide Family Thriller that explores what might happen if a son followed through on his father’s request to hasten the end of his life. He discusses how fictional stories can help us address controversial issues and find new perspectives on them and why he writes fiction “with a conscience.” Learn more about his writing at his website:

www.johnbyrnebarry.com

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This episode includes:

• Why John chose to wrote a novel that addresses a family member helping a loved one end his life
• How John did research for the book in order to understand hospice, end-of-life and right-to-die issues
• How fiction can help us look at controversial and complicated issues and find more compassion for one another
• How John portrayed communication issues, old family conflicts, and shadow wounds as obstacles to decision-making in the book
• What John learned from writing this book
• How end-of-life issues are becoming more visible in popular culture
• What readers might take away from the book and apply to their own lives

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Contact John at [e-mail] if you’d like him to connect with your book club
• Leave me a message by email: [e-mail], Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
• Support your local bookstore by buying my books on Bookshop and Indiebound: 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying and The Journey from Ego to Soul
• Subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Stitcher Radio
• Check out the Series I’ve recorded in the past here
• Join the team at Patreon.com/eolu and get access to the EOLU mug: “Mind if we talk about death?” (only Patrons can purchase it). PLUS get our new bonuses: the monthly EOL News Update, movie reviews from 2 Doctors and a Movie, and automatic access to A Year of Reading Dangerously!

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