Thought provoking!

"In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." Benjamin Franklin - 1789

We don't have a choice when we pay our taxes but, should we have the right to choose when we die?

From an early age I have read books. I have books on my shelves that I read as a child and have vivid memories of many more. As an adult I have a liking for a variety of genres but there is one author who dominates my bookshelves.

I first started reading his books when he published his first book back in 1983. Browsing along the section of new releases in my local book store I did as I always did, picked up the book and started to read the first page. By the time I had turned to page 2 I knew I had found a book I would enjoy.

After reading his 2nd book I knew I was a fan and was hoping his writing career would have longevity. By book 3 & 4 I was not only waiting for the publishing date but, I was joining the queues of fans who would wait at book signings to have the new release and any previous books they owned signed by the author.

By book 8 I would turn up with a bag of his favourite sweets, the blue liquorice allsorts - do you know how many bags I had to buy to get a small bag solely of the little blue sweets?

He was churning books out at a rate of one per year and I was always at the bookstore on the first day of release, and the book was generally read within the week.

As his popularity grew so did the queues at book signings. From a wait of about an hour in the early years I found myself happily waiting for 3 or 4 hours, just to have my new tome signed by such a genius.

Then in 1996 I lost all of my treasures in a custody battle when I split with my first husband. In a fit of pique my ex informed me that I could have none of my books, my hamster or my wedding album if I left. I left anyway and continued to buy the new releases. 

In 1998 I had my photo taken with him, and while I don't know which album that photo is in, I know it is still with me to this date.

My dad and I shared a love of his books, we would read and re-read them and spend hours discussing them. My dad's collection was a little hit and miss and so, in 2007, I went on ebay and bought books 1-20 for him. A collection I inherited when dad died 3 years ago.

As someone I didn't really know, I felt I knew him as well as some of my friends. Any magazine article or tv programs, of which there were few, were eagerly absorbed and so it came as a major shock to hear that Terry Pratchett had been diagnosed with the early onset of alzheimers in late 2007.

While he continued to write and deal with the increasing symptoms he also started to look at the situation with assisted deaths in the UK. He expressed his wish that, at a time of his choosing he wanted the right to end his life.

It's a highly controversial topic on so many levels and suddenly, here is a high profile author, known, loved and followed by millions bringing the topic into the forefront of everyday life.

Again, over the years I've read a number of articles prompted by his latest discussion over his illness but nothing brought home the intensity of making such a decision as the program screened last Monday. This brought it right into our home and didn't pull any punches. I can't say it made any changes to my thoughts on the topic, I can see both sides of the argument but I'm sure this is one of those topics that views can change if you suddenly find yourself dealing with an actual illness rather than discussing a hypothetical what-if scenario.

Needless to say, I will continue to follow Sir Terry's journey as his illness progresses and continue to read his books for as long as he his able to write them.

Rarely does a TV program have such a profound effect on me as this one did.

May whatever choice he makes be some years off yet.