Two Weeks of Life - by Eleanor Clift (Paperback)

About the Book

"Newsweek" contributing editor Clift tackles one of the most important--and divisive--issues facing the nation: how Americans deal, or fail to deal, with dying. Clift provides a very personal narrative as she alternates between the much-publicized death of Terri Schiavo and that of her own husband.

Book Synopsis

What has become known as the Schiavo affair-the death of a brain-damaged woman in Florida in 2005, and the controversy that surrounded it-was a revelatory moment in American society. For the first time, the nation got a clear view of both the fanaticism gripping the religious right and the political power it could bring to bear even when the vast majority of the country disagreed with it. But it was also a turning point: a moment when America seemed to glimpse a dangerous radicalism, and began to pull back. Eleanor Clift witnessed this event from a unique vantage point. At the same time that Schiavo was dying in her Florida hospice, Clift's husband, Tom Brazaitis, was dying of cancer at home; the two passed away within a day of each other. Two Weeks of Life alternates between these two stories to provide a moving commentary on how we deal, or fail to deal, with dying in modern America.

Review Quotes

"Booklist"
"Clift's situation with her husband is an intensely personal one, and readers will feel for the couple as they learn of his diagnosis and their attempts to find extraordinary treatments to cure the cancer that originated in his kidney and then spread to his brain."

"Kirkus Reviews"
"A powerful mix of opinion, reporting and poignant recollection."

"New York Times Book Review"
"Eleanor Clift's reporting on the Schiavo ordeal is thorough, and her tender description of her husband's exemplary death demonstrates how hospice care can help achieve what she calls a 'more peaceful ushering in of the inevitable.'"

Helen Thomas, Hearst Newspapers columnist
"Eleanor Clift has written a remarkable book about the disgraceful government intervention in the death of Terri Schiavo and brilliantly melded in the death of newspaper man Tom Brazaitis, her husband. She tells the story that gripped the nation and made it deal with the profound questions of life and death. It's a great book."

John Danforth, former United States Senator from Missouri
""Two Weeks of Life" helps us think deeply about about the end of life decisions that the successes of modern medicine have thrust upon us: how and how long to survive under the most dire conditions."

Morton M. Kondracke, author of "Saving Milly: Love, Politics and Parkinson's Disease"
"As someone who has cared for a dying spouse, I found Eleanor Clift's story of her last days with her beloved Tom moving and enriching--and her account of poor Terri Schiavo's demise, perfectly horrifying. This book will enlighten all who read it--hopefully including our national leaders--about the difference between 'good death' and 'bad death.'"

About the Author

Eleanor Clift is a contributing editor for Newsweek and a regular panelist on the nationally syndicated show The McLaughlin Group. She lives in Washington, D.C.

www.EleanorClift.com