Category Archives: Euthanasia

A horse-rescuer who built up her yard in Swanley from scratch has lost everything in a suspected arson attack at her stables.

The incident at rescuer Debbie Sinclairs yard in Church Road happened between 3pm on Wednesday, December 22 and 8am on Thursday, December 23.

Debbie rescues ex racehorses with injuriesand racers who cant find homes by providing them with a safe, loving home until their last days.

She said she is "absolutely devastated" at what has happened to her and her horses - whose alternative is "normally euthanasia".

Debbie told the News Shopper: "I am absolutely devastated that this has happened to me and more importantly my horses.

"All have raced and served the industry well.

"I take them on when they have nowhere or nobody to take them.

"The alternative for these brave noble animals is normally euthanasia.

"I ensure that they have a home for life with me and fund their wellbeing entirely alone."

According to Debbies friend Kristina Valentine, who has set up a GoFundMe page to help her out, Debbie and the horses have lost everything - including feed, hay, rugs, headcollars, tack buckets, medication and their homes.

Debbie Sinclair at the burnt barn

Kristina said Debbie deserves all the help we can give her right now as she faces a winter without her stables following the suspected attack.

Describing Debbie as a "kind, sweet woman", Kristina set upthe fundraising page as her friend hasgone above and beyond to save, rehabilitate and care for these horses, no matter their physical or behavioural issues.

Kristina also explained that Debbie spends out of her own pocket to pay for all their care, medical treatment and to keep them happy and healthy.

Debbie and horse Max

Debbie said: I needthe help of the local community.

"I have just been donated two very expensive rugs from Premier Equine who are a leading brand.

"I want to thank them for their kindness.

"I have been touched and am deeply grateful for the kindness people have shown.

"It has really restored my faith in human kindness after this wicked cruel act left my horses without shelter food or warmth at the most cruel time of year weather wise.

"How anyone could do this is beyond comprehension."

The GoFundMe page has a fundraising target of 5,000.

Postie and Local

Anyone with information about the suspected attack should call the Kent Police appeal line on 01622 604100, quoting crime reference 46/263756/21.

The full appeal from Kristina said: "Hi there, I am starting this fundraiser for my friend Debbie.

"Debbie is kind, sweet woman who rescues ex racehorses with injuries or racers who cannot find homes for various reasons.

"She provides them a safe, loving home until their last days and is there for them every step of the way.

"Debbie has built her yard up from scratch to keep her horses safe, and cares for them like no other, her horses are mostly unridden, retired horses no one else wanted and she spends out of her own pocket to pay for all their care, medical treatment and to keep them healthy and happy.

"Anyone who has thoroughbreds knows this is no easy task and winter is upon us. These horses have lost their stables and Debbie has lost everything.

"Their feed, hay, rugs, headcollars, tack, buckets, medication, and their homes.

"She is now facing a winter without stables and trying to get money together to rebuild her yard so her horses can stay safe.

"Please help in any way you can. Debbie has gone above and beyond to save, rehabilitate and care for these horses, no matter their physical or behavioural issues.

"She deserves all the help we can give her right now.

"One of Debbie's mares is 22 and needs constant arthritis medication from the toll of racing."

A spokesperson for Kent Police said: Officers are investigating a report of suspected arson at stables in Church Road, Swanley.

The incident happened between 3pm on Wednesday 22 December and 8am on Thursday 23 December 2021.

Investigators are urging anyone with information to call the appeal line on 01622 604100, quoting crime reference 46/263756/21.

You can also call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or complete the online form on their website.

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Horse-rescuer 'loses everything' in suspected arson attack at stables - News Shopper

The crossbench peer leading parliamentary efforts to end the ban on assisted suicide appears to be trying to use the governments health and care bill to make a parallel bid to introduce legalisation.

Baroness Meachers assisted dying bill is awaiting its committee stage in the House of Lords, following a debate that appeared to show peers split on the issue of legalisation.

Disabled people opposed to her bill have described it as dangerous and incoherent and have called on parliament to focus on ensuring disabled people have a right to live independently, before even considering legalisation of assisted suicide, while warning that the bill adds to the distorted view that many have of disabled peoples lives.

But Baroness Meacher has now lodged an amendment to the governments health and care bill in what appears to be a second, separate attempt to secure legalisation.

Her amendment states that regulations in the health and care bill on patient choice must also apply to those with a diagnosis of terminal illness, or to another relevant person if the terminally-ill person lacks capacity for such a conversation.

The amendment also states that NHS and other relevant bodies must have regard to the needs and preferences recorded in such conversations when making decisions on whether to provide them with services.

Baroness Meacher had told fellow peers in a debate on the health and care bill on 7 December (pictured): Crucial to high-quality palliative care is the patients right to choose at the very end of life, and the bill needs to play its part in this area we cannot afford not to.

Soon afterwards, she lodged her proposed amendment to the bill.

Some commentators have suggested that this amendment would allow the legalisation of assisted suicide, even if her assisted dying bill fails to become law.

Baroness Meacher, a former social worker, is chair of the campaigning organisation Dignity in Dying, formerly known as the Voluntary Euthanasia Society, which is leading the campaign for legalisation.

When Disability News Service (DNS) asked her to clarify her intentions this week, she failed to rule out the possibility that her amendment would have the effect of legalising assisted suicide, if it became law.

When DNS asked if it was her intention that her amendment to the health and care bill would allow the introduction of legalised assisted suicide, she replied by email: It is a fundamental human right to ensure people dont suffer torture or degrading treatment.

Patient choice is vital in all contexts but particularly at the end of life.

DNS asked on Tuesday for further clarification of whether she intended that her amendment would secure legalisation, but she had not responded by noon today (Thursday).

A note from the editor:

Please consider making a voluntary financial contribution to support the work of DNS and allow it to continue producing independent, carefully-researched news stories that focus on the lives and rights of disabled people and their user-led organisations.

Please do not contribute if you cannot afford to do so, and please note that DNS is not a charity. It is run and owned by disabled journalist John Pring and has been from its launch in April 2009.

Thank you for anything you can do to support the work of DNS

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Peer 'makes new bid for assisted suicide legalisation' through health and care bill - Disability News Service

A new pro-abortion White House administration at the beginning of 2021 ended four years of simple but important executive-level advances for the pro-life movement. President Joe Biden swiftly reversed many of former President Donald Trumps pro-life policies. But the lasting victory of Trumps conservative Supreme Court picks brought hopes for the end of Roe v. Wade. Tensions increased at the state level as pro-life lawmakers reacted to a national political climate that is hostile to unborn babies. Meanwhile, abortion and euthanasia advanced internationally.

Two days after his inauguration, President Biden releaseda statement pledging to codify a womans right to abortion into law. That promise hasnt been fulfilled yet, but his administration has done plenty to chip away at protections for babies.

In January, Biden signeda presidential memorandum revoking the Mexico City policy, which had prevented federal funds from going to international health groups that offer abortions. That same memorandum also removed the United States from the Geneva Consensus, an international pro-life declaration, and initiated the process of reversing Trumps Title X rule that kept abortion providers from getting federal family planning dollars.

In April, Bidens Food and Drug Administration dealt another blow, announcingit would not enforce the requirement for providers to dispense the abortion pill in person. That opened the floodgates for pro-abortion websites to continue sending abortive drugs to women through the mail. Bidens administration in the following months continued to publicize its stance on abortion, releasingin June a $6 trillion budget proposal without the Hyde Amendment, a long-standing measure keeping taxpayer money from funding the abortion industry.

Abortion advocates werent satisfied with those advances. The advocacy group We Testify complained that it took the Biden administration 224 days to use the word abortion in a notable public statement. We dont need more evasive statements from the White House that further stigmatize abortion, the group said on its website.

Effectively shut out at the federal level but simultaneously empowered by Trumps conservative judicial nominees, pro-life activists changedtactics and focused their attention on state legislation.

The pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute called the 2021 legislative session the most damaging to the pro-abortion cause in decades. By April 29, states had introduced536 pro-life bills, and 61 had become law. By the same time in 2011, the previous record-holding year, states had enacted only 42 pro-life laws.

Arkansas in March passedone of the strongest bills, protecting even babies conceived through rape or incest, with an exception if a pregnancy threatens a womans life. Gov. Asa Hutchinson acknowledged that the law defied Supreme Court precedent but said, It is the intent of the legislation to set the stage for the Supreme Court overturning current case law.

The pro-life law that made the biggest waves passed in Texas two months later. Using a controversial enforcement mechanism, it protects babies from abortions once they have a detectable heartbeat, typically at around six weeks of gestation. The law went live in September and reportedly halvedthe number of abortions in the state. Thats causedan influx of clients at some of the states pregnancy centers, where staff have seen women sometimes angry, sometimes relievedthat they cant get an abortion after the first few weeks of pregnancy. The Supreme Court has allowedthe law to remain in effect as legal battles continue in the lower courts. Lawmakers in South Carolina also passed a heartbeat law in February, but that one hasnt gone into effect due to ongoing litigation.

In the fall, lawsuits over the Texas heartbeat law made a mad dash to the Supreme Court, which held oral arguments exactly two months after the rule went into effect. But the hearings focusedon technicalitiesjust a sideshow to the main abortion-related event in the high court this year.

The Supreme Court shocked pro-life and pro-abortion activists alike when it announced in May that it would take up Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization, the case of a Mississippi law protecting babies from abortion after 15 weeks of gestation. The justices agreed to consider whether all pre-viability prohibitions on elective abortions are unconstitutional. Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitchs July brief called on the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade and give back to states the power to regulate abortion before the point in pregnancy when a baby can survive outside the womb.

Pro-life activists sawthe courts agreement to hear the case as a signal of potential willingness to scrap its messy, decades-old abortion precedent. Pro-abortion activists thought the same, but with apprehension: Organizers of the 2021 Womens March rebrandedthe nationwide October demonstrations as abortion justice marches, a response to the Texas heartbeat law and the arguments in Dobbs.

In oral arguments on Dec. 1, the more moderate justices implied a willingness to go against Roes precedent and allow the Mississippi law to stand. If nothing else, one pro-abortion attorneys reference to a baby demonstratedthe effect ultrasound technology has had on the national conscience.

In an amicus brief filed in the Dobbs case, South African Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng for the United Nations warned that overturning Roecould have catastrophic implications for so-called abortion rights throughout the world. We know that politically that what happens in the United States does have an impact in precedents elsewhere in the world, Mofokeng toldThe Guardian.

Pro-life groups in Latin America have felt the reality of that statement in the past year, but not in the way that concerned Mofokeng. In the final days of 2020, Argentina becamethe largest Latin American country to legalize abortion. Pro-lifers blamed the change on international monetary pressure and political pressure. Some speculated that the timing of the bills passage corresponded with the results of the U.S. election when it became clear the new Biden administration would support international abortion groups financially.

In September, the Mexican Supreme Court issuedrulings that will prevent Mexican states from enforcing pro-life laws and make it easier to pass pro-abortion ones. The timing of that case coincided with meetings between Mexican government officials and pro-abortion U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.

But at least one pro-life victory cameto Latin America in 2021: Honduras passed a bipartisan constitutional amendment to prevent lawmakers from legalizing abortion in the future. Pro-lifers there expect pressure from the United States to reverse the countrys position, but it would take a difficult three-fourths majority in the National Congress.

In a September radio interview, Pope Francis coupledabortion with euthanasia as signs of throwaway culture, calling the increasing legalization of euthanasia one of the tragedies of todays European culture.

This year, the Portuguese parliament twice passedlegislation that would legalize euthanasia in the country, but that bill has been held up for months by presidential vetoes and concerns from the countrys Constitutional Court. The practice advancedwith more ease elsewhere. Between March and September, three of the six Australian states legalized euthanasia for people with terminal illnesses. The country expects a vote over a bill in New South Wales, the only remaining state without legal euthanasia, in early 2022.

Spain in March also legalizedeuthanasia but leaped down the slippery slope, allowing the procedure even for people who arent about to die but who are suffering from a serious, chronic illness. In Canada, where euthanasia has been legal for terminally ill people since 2016, a new bill passed that removes the requirement for a patients death to be reasonably foreseeable. People with disabilities in the country worry this change in the law will make it easier for culture to throw them away when they become inconvenient.

Original post:

Year in Review: Combating throwaway culture | WORLD - WORLD News Group

Poki is one of the many animals given a second chance at life thanks to San Diego Humane Society

Thanks to a $500,000 match from the Resource Partners Foundation, donations made to San Diego Humane Society through the end of the year will be doubled. Proceeds from SDHSs Holiday Drive to Save Lives will go toward providing care to some 40,000 animals a year that goes beyond that found in traditional shelters, such as advanced veterinary medicine and a behavior and training program.

SDHS highlighted the success story of Poki, a fearful but healthy dog with behavioral issues who was relinquished by a family that was unable to care for him. Trainers worked with him for four months to ensure he would be ready for a new home.

In communities that cant offer the appropriate behavioral support, many dogs like Poki face the heartbreaking possibility of euthanasia, said Brian Daugherty, SDHS senior vice president and chief of philanthropy and communications. Thats why our Behavior and Training program is such an important part of how we save lives. And its why our Holiday Drive to Save Lives is so important. Poki is a perfect example of the specialized care we can provide animals at San Diego Humane Society because of the generosity of our community.

The $500,000 match from the Resource Partners Foundation is the largest in SDHS history. To donate and double your contribution, visitsdhumane.org/matchingor textholidaydrive to 50155.

Fifteen organizations that help underserved kids received grants from Rest Haven Childrens Health Fund

Rest Haven Childrens Health Fund, which supports nonprofits that help underserved children in San Diego and Imperial counties, awarded 15 organizations more than $182,000 in grants. The funds will be used to bolster each organizations capacity to address the physical, developmental, and/or mental health needs of kids and teens. Among their recipients were Connect Med, the Emilio Nares Foundation, Promises2Kids, San Diego Center for Children, Boys & Girls Clubs of San Dieguito, and Ronald McDonald House Charities of San Diego.

In addition to grants, Rest Haven also provides funding assistance for individual children through an online referral process.Any service provider whos working with a child and identifies a health-related need thats going unmet due to financial reasons can submit a referral form atresthavenchf.org.

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Ring In the New Year by Helping Shelter Pets - San Diego Magazine

A DO not resuscitate order, or a DNR order, is a medical order from a doctor stating that no steps should be taken to restart the patient's heart or restore breathing if the patient experiences cardiac arrest or respiratory arrest.

This may be given if CPR presents further risks to the patient or keeps in line with the patient's wishes.

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A DNRorder means that a doctor is not required to resuscitate a patient if their heart stops and is designed to prevent unnecessary suffering.

Circumstances whereresuscitation is not appropriate include:

TheBritish Medical Association and the Royal College of Nursing say that DNR orders should only be issued after discussions have been held with patients or their family.

Although it may be difficult to have discussions with patients and their relatives about whether to revive or not, doctors accept that this is no reason why discussions should not take place.

The most difficult cases for discussion are usually those involving patients who know they were going to die, are suffering a lot of pain, but who could live for several months.

Although DNRs can be regarded as a form of passive euthanasia, they are not controversial unless they are abused.

Their primary intention is to prevent patients suffering from the bad effects that resuscitation can cause, including broken ribs, other fractures, ruptured spleen, brain damage.

Healthcare providers need to be able to justify the decision.

Although the order implies that patients must be made aware of a DNR decision and given the opportunity to discuss it, it does not give the individual the right to demand treatment.

DNR orders are used in the UK but there are procedures that must be followed.

However, NHS Trusts must ensure:

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What does a do not resuscitate order mean and how do DNR forms work in the UK?... - The Sun

Dear Editor,

This poor lady's case illustrates the dilemma of what constitutes ordinary and extraordinary care. This is a crucial debate considering the push for euthanasia, assisted suicide, etc, in some quarters. Medical care is not about flogging dead horses, it is not about over zealous intervention or the mindset of keeping a body alive at all costs. It is also not about bumping off tired folk, people with considered loss of autonomy or unbearable suffering.

It should be about a caring palliation of the final moments and days in a person's life. About a dedicated approach to bio-psycho-social and spiritual care. Prolonging the dying process or enforcing arduous treatments in patients with a terminal prognosis is over-medicalisation and unhelpful.

The world pattern is for people to die at home without interventions, simply because they don't exist and families do their best. In the developed world medicine has tools to keep people alive and hopefully bring a cure. Their overuse causes problems for hospitals and families and the patients. Sometimes it is best to "call it a day" and allow life to happen and for people to be allowed to die. It is a natural process. I am aware that pressures may be brought to bear to follow a different route to that guided by wisdom and medical expertise and so be it. People and families are entitled to make choices provided the choice is available, does not exclude another more deserving patient from more benefit, and is affordable. We absolutely do not need assisted suicide or euthanasia but what is needed is a reasonable and balanced attitude to death and what is and what is not in keeping with the dignity of life and the person in its management. We should become more expert in preventing overzealous interventions when foreseeable.

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Re: Covid-19: Second judge says that most complex covid patient in the world should be allowed to die - The BMJ

With NSWs voluntary assisted dying bill passing the lower house last month, UNSW ethics and health law experts weigh in on the debate, arguing that currentpalliative care practices for people living with a life-limiting illness are not enough.

This often leads terminally ill people to resort to horrific and undignified means to put an end to their suffering.

People who are desperate to end their lives should be able to do so in a dignified manner surrounded by loved ones and on their own terms, says Dr Marc De Leeuw, an expert in biolegality and ethics.

When dealing with end of life, experts say palliative care specialised medical care for people living with a serious illness alone is often not enough. In fact, some current practices have already rendered palliative care obsolete.

The daily actual reality in hospitals is that doctors and nurses are forced to make decisions with the patients and their families regarding the palliative regime which in many cases are not far removed from an active euthanasia practice, Dr De Leeuw says.

For example, palliative care cannot be provided to someone with dementia or a neurological disease which slowly destroys the brain or nervous system.

Palliative care is not applicable in this case because their physical condition allows life to continue while the actual person within that body slowly disappears, Dr De Leeuw says.

Some studies have also demonstrated that only a small minority of patients want to end their lives due to pain, says Health law expert Associate Professor Jennifer Schulz Moore.

"Evidence from the Netherlands and Oregon in the United States, suggests that the provision of euthanasia has focused attention on deficiencies in the provision of palliative care and in pain management.

"So, it is unlikely that palliative care services will resolve the issue, particularly given that palliative care and voluntary assisted dying could coexist," she says.

To date, NSW is the lone state in Australia to consider legalising voluntary assisted dying. All other states have already shown strong public support for voluntary assisted dying and passed legislation.

NSWs voluntary assisted dying bill passed the lower house last month and will move to the upper house for a vote next year.

If the bill is passed by a majority vote, euthanasia for the terminally ill will become legal in NSW.

Based on the evidence and experience from overseas jurisdictions such as the Netherlands and Oregon, euthanasia law does not support the slippery slope argument, A/Prof. Schulz Moore says.

For example, she says that there was a decrease in the prevalence of euthanasia between 1990-2010 in the Netherlands.

Individuals within a democracy should be allowed the free exercise of their choice, including the choice of when and how they wish to die, she says.

According to Dr De Leeuw, whether euthanasia law is a slippery slope also depends on its eligibility criteria.

If euthanasia is purely intended to offer patients who are dying or who are going through prolonged unbearable suffering, the voluntary dying bill will allow them an earlier and more peaceful ending and will extend the ethos of palliative care, he says.

However, it might be difficult to define unbearable suffering in many cases as it can be quite subjective.

For someone at the beginning of dementia who doesnt want to wait till they no longer recognise others or know who they are; the criterion of unbearable suffering is subjective. Is the fear of losing ones identity and self-awareness unbearable and sufficient reason to end your life?

Research has also indicated that many people who have discussed euthanasia with their GP, do not end up taking that option in the end.

For them, its more about the comfort of having the option of euthanasia in the 'worst case scenario', Dr De Leeuw says.

The most difficult aspect of administering an assisted dying procedure is ensuring that the patient is fully aware and competent in making their own decisions, he says.

Does forgetting a few things make you less competent? Does being on heavy medication exclude you from being fully competent? Can prolonged loneliness contribute to depression and ongoing sickness that can potentially evoke the will to die?

One can ask if euthanasia is the ultimate form of individual choice in our liberal society or a sign that our communities and family structure are no longer able to give care and empathy to loved ones at the end of life, Dr De Leeuw says.

But when it comes to the law, such questions are rarely debated.

The law focuses on accountability in this case of the doctors providing assistance to death. Their action should not lead to criminal conviction. It is therefore essential that a very clear legal framework defines what counts and does not count as legal euthanasia in Australia, he says.

The lack of access to assisted dying practices in some countries has led others to introduce so-called euthanasia-tourism. In Switzerland, active euthanasia is illegal, but to provide the means to commit euthanasia is not. On average, it can cost a patient a minimum of $10,000 (in addition to flights and hotel stay) for the procedure.

The fact that terminally ill people choose to die in another country, somewhere far away from home, says a lot about how people in real need will always find a way to end their life no matter what, Dr De Leeuw says.

And those who cant afford it are left to suffer or try self-euthanasia by other means. This is why a euthanasia legislation is urgent in NSW, he says.

But first, it is important to set out very clear guidelines and define the circumstances under which euthanasia will be allowed.

This includes guidelines for those ending their lives, their families and loved ones, and the doctors aiding.

The need to legalise euthanasia responds to the right of a dignified death which is not just related to our physical and mental condition but also related to a social, political, and economic question concerning the quality of our healthcare system, nursing homes, and the ability of the community and families to care for those who need it, Dr De Leeuw says.

Euthanasia should lead a larger social debate about how we care for the most vulnerable, and how society as a whole, can better support the deep relational aspect of how we live together as humans.

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Voluntary assisted dying bill: Should terminally ill people be allowed the right to end their life? - UNSW Newsroom

With the help of this grant, the organization will be able to sterilize, vaccinate and microchip dogs and cats to support its efforts to help the homeless pets find homes.

Each year, hundreds of thousands of homeless and stray animals are put to sleep simply because there's no room in shelters to house them and no families willing to adopt them.

The St. Francis Society, named for St. Francis of Assisi, the Catholic saint known for his kindness to animals, finds homes for nearly 2,000 cats and kittens found living outside in often horrific conditions.

"This funding from PetSmart Charities will enable us to make a huge difference in the lives of Tampa homeless pets. With it, we will be able to provide veterinary care, vaccines and microchips so that 1,000 cats and kittens may find their forever homes. We are so proud to partner with PetSmart Charities." said Lisa Knight, president of the St. Francis Society.

"Adopting a pet is a big decision," said Heidi Fulcher, senior adoptions grant manager at PetSmart Charities. "It's ideal for a pet to be given preventative health measures, removing a few less tasks to manage during the transition. We're proud to partner with St. Francis Society to support their noble and compassionate work."

Established in 1997, St. Francis Society Animal Rescue is an all-volunteer, 501-c3 animal rescue organization dedicated to saving the lives of sick, injured and stray domestic animals as well as spaying/neutering and providing medical services for those animals.

Each year, nearly half of the animals the nonprofit rescues are saved from euthanasia. Additionally, each year, St. Francis Society volunteers trap, neuter, vaccinate and return feral cats to their colonies in Tampa.

Humane organizations around the country consider this a humane way of dealing with feral cat populations without euthanasia. Once the cats no longer have the ability to reproduce, eventually the colonies disappear.

St. Francis is just one of the many nonprofits supported by PetSmart Charities.

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Kittens Share Top Christmas Wish With Santa: A Home Of Their Own - Patch.com

Why Christmas?

Dear Editor,

In quiet moments, we know we stand before God as sinners. None can claim perfection. In the end, no economic status, title, skin color, creed, religious denomination, nationality, position, heritage or possessions will matter. Only the condition of our soul towards God and His Son Jesus will count.

Israel in the Old Testament knew God, but she wandered away, began worshiping idols. Similarly, Americas idols are money, power, sex, entertainment, greed, forms of addictions and luxury. The drifting from God has brought unjust behaviors into our culture. Human life is devalued resulting in abortions, euthanasia and assisted suicide, all considered acceptable solutions to the inconvenience of unplanned pregnancies, painful illnesses or suffering depression.

Many at Christmas will ponder God invading mankind by being born human in the humblest means possible. Jesus, our Savior, advocate, and defender against the evil one, understands the downcast, the disadvantaged, the marginalized. He experienced it first hand as a human being. His sacrificial death and resurrection from the grave provide forgiveness and hope. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it but that through Him the world might be saved. John 3: 17

The empty idols of this world will never satisfy the soul. Only Gods forgiveness through Jesus does that. Why Christmas? Because, God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16. Have a Blessed Christmas!

Lucia Hunter

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Letter to the Editor - Revere Journal

Fiction

Review by Robin MacArthur

How High We Go in the Darkby Sequoia NagamatsuWilliam Morrow, 2022 ($27.99)

Sometimes a novel comes along that feels so prescientso startlingly aligned with the happenings of the real worldit seems plausible that the author was attuned not just to scientific foreshadowing but to some divinatory reading of the stars.

I felt this reading Sequoia Nagamatsu's How High We Go in the Dark, a dystopian narrative set in the near future about an ancient virus that is uncovered by a scientist named Clara while she is researching melting permafrost in the Arctic. Tragically, Clara and her peers, while working tirelessly to slow the climate crisis, unwittingly spark the kind of global suffering they were hoping to avoid.

This Arctic plague soon causes widespread panic, death and grief, and Nagamatsu imagines the ways sorrow, technology and art might align in such a fathomable future. In a series of interconnected stories told from multiple points of view, we encounter a euthanasia theme park for dying children, a surreal version of the afterlife, a talking pig, a black hole implanted in the brain of a scientist, a funerary skyscraper, a dysfunctional repair shop for robotic dogs, and an interstellar spaceship. Woven throughout are flickers of starlight, myth and humanity's age-old connection with the natural world. Humming beneath the fantastical, scientific and mystical imaginings of this book are quiet and tender stories of love, family and belonging.

Although the glitter of Nagamatsu's imaginative renderings was what first caught my attention, it was these personal stories that lingered. Set in the future amid a pandemic far worse than our own, this polyphonic novel reflects our human desire to find meaning within tragedy. To feel our innate interconnection with all things, to care for one anotherstrangers, evenduring times of immense loss, to learn how to say goodbye, to make things of beauty, and, most essentially, to inhabit and tend a livable planet for all.

Dark and Magical Places: The Neuroscience of Navigationby Christopher KempW. W. Norton, 2022 ($26.95)

Navigation is the one of the most complex cognitive tasks humans engage in daily. In this fascinating dive into the brain, neurobiology researcher Christopher Kemp explores how we orient where we're going, why we lose our way, and what scientists know about how we do both these things. Kemp's explanations of concepts such as grid cells are clear and engaging, but the book shines brightest in his entertaining descriptions of his own chronic lost-ness, as well as in surprisingly moving stories about people who have wandered perilously off route. Some make it home, but others don't. Tess Joosse

The High Houseby Jessie GreengrassScribner, 2022 ($27)

In Jessie Greengrass's lush novel, set on the flood-ravaged English coast, a climate activist named Francesca has prepared a shelter but dies in a hurricane before she can reach it.* Following her survival plan, Francesca's young son and stepdaughter flee to the high house, where they are met by Grandya resourceful steward of sorts for the emptying vacation townand his granddaughter. This unlikely quartet holes up, struggling to adjust to new circumstances. As the water rises, threatening to reach even them, Greengrass explores what it is like to grow up amid an escalating catastrophe and what remains after so much is swept away. Ian Battaglia

This Boy We Made: A Memoir of Motherhood, Genetics, and Facing the Unknownby Taylor HarrisCatapult, 2022 ($26)

Taylor Harris's gripping memoir is about medicine in the same way it is about race: completely and not at all. When her second child, Tophs, starts experiencing inexplicable symptoms, even the most seasoned specialists are baffled. At each turn in their medical journey, Harris and her husband demand to exist and to be taken seriously in a system that would rather ignore them. With tender, evocative prose, the author executes a daunting undertaking: to floodlight the intersection of two burdensBlack and undiagnosedin a world that is comfortable with neither. The result is alternately heartwarming and enraging. Maddie Bender

*Editors Note (12/16/21): This sentence was edited after posting to correct the description of the novels setting.

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A Near-Future Plague, the Neuroscience of Navigation, and More - Scientific American