Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Ivan Vendrov's avatar

> I've read multiple books by men who committed sepuku. One was a westerner who was paralyzed from the chest down...

A man who spent his last months on earth writing a manifesto, pleading that his readers support the legalization of suicide. Who wanted desperately to die in bed, surrounded by his loved ones, after bidding them good-bye. Who instead died alone, having concealed his intentions and true feelings from them for months for fear they would put him into protective custody and close his last avenue of escape.

Clayton would have gladly taken the ugly compromise of assisted suicide over the horror he had to endure.

Expand full comment
Simon Tanner's avatar

Good article, and ultimately where I land. This issue is personal for me. In 2012, my father had a massive mental breakdown. Lots of backstory that I won’t dredge up here. He was going to be hospitalized, and decided he didn’t want to go down that road.

His last words to my mother before he ran off into the mountains he loved were, “I’m done.” His remains were found three months later. My mother couldn’t bring herself to call it a suicide, but I always get that was what my father intended. He saw what the future held for him, and he felt a death in the mountains he loved was preferable.

Do I like his choice? Hell no! But do I respect it? Yes. He went out on his own terms.

Expand full comment
24 more comments...

No posts