Sunbury Press Books Show -- Cruel Death, Heartless Aftermath by Barbara Mancini

CRUEL DEATH, HEARTLESS AFTERMATH: My Family's End-of-Life Nightmare and How To Avoid It

Ninety-three-year-old Joseph Yourshaw knew his end was near and had carefully planned so that he would have a peaceful and dignified death. He completed an advance directive, appointed his daughter, Barbara Mancini, as his health care proxy, and enrolled in home hospice care. He made it clear -- he wanted to die at home, not at a hospital. But it was not to be. A simple act of compassion on Barbara’s part led her father to a medically intensive, horribly painful death in the hospital – and left her an accused felon, facing 10 years in prison for allegedly assisting a suicide. Barbara fought back, in a case that consumed a year, cost over $100,000, and drew national media attention. Cruel Death, Heartless Aftermath is a compelling memoir about this injustice.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Barbara Mancini graduated from Penn State University and Widener University with degrees in nursing. She has worked in emergency nursing for over three decades. In 2013, she was arrested and prosecuted in Pennsylvania on the charge of aiding the attempted suicide of her dying 93-year old father after handing him his prescribed morphine five days before his death. A hospice nurse and police ignored his written advanced directives, and he was then hospitalized and treated in defiance of his end-of-life wishes. Barbara’s prosecution lasted a year, during which time it garnered national and global attention, and it was roundly criticized throughout the media. Barbara is now an advocate for end-of-life care and works as a paralegal in the Montgomery County Public Defender’s Office. She lives in Philadelphia.