Choosing an end-of-life option has, up until this point in the development of our society, not been something that many people have entertained. As I approached my 'golden years', I began to reflect on what it means to have had 'a completed life'. The more I thought about and reminisced on my life, I began to think about how and when I would like my life to end. This publication is a record of that reflection whilst posing many questions for you, the reader.
The memoir covers my early life in KwaZulu-Natal growing up around Amanzimtoti including my
education. Following several years of teaching at two secondary schools, I left teaching to follow my dream of becoming a performing artist. When this career did not take off, I joined the SABC where I worked in broadcasting for more than a decade.
The memoir then picks up on my new life and teaching career in New Zealand. This opened many doors for me to travel to other parts of the world, teaching English. As the memoir shares these events, it also looks at decision-making and how we respond to the consequences of our decisions.
A second theme revolves around my ethnic and sexual identities. I lived my life as white but I began to suspect that something was not quite right. There were signs which pointed to my birth certificate being wrong but I was too afraid to correct it. It was only much later in my life that I investigated, discovered the truth and finally came to accept it. In my early twenties, I came out as a gay man and have lived and loved my life as such even though the seventies and early eighties were difficult times for people who were LGBTQI. The memoir looks at three specific relationships and what they meant to me.
A final theme in the memoir is that of end-of-life choice. As our population grows older and older, our societies need to change in order to cater for the needs of our elderly. It is the author’s objective to address the elephant in the room; the choice that some people would like to make to end their lives for whatever reason they believe is appropriate. Legislation already exists for those with terminal illnesses and whose lives are intolerable. In the author’s case it is the belief in ‘a completed life’. The memoir explains what this means and gives compelling evidence as to why it should be accepted by law in our modern society.