Terry Pratchett

carrie99

Registered User
Apr 26, 2009
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Yorkshire
Are there others who think Terry Pratchett is over the top with the assisted suicide?
I for one am still having a whale of a time and managing to keep a very good life style (thanks to my partner T0ny.)

Here now and hopefully for years yet!

Carrie
 

Grannie G

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Apr 3, 2006
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Kent
Well done Carrie. Keep up the good work. :)

I think what Terry Pratchett is doing is keeping himself alive, it`s his therapy. I`m not sure if it`s helping anyone else.
He doesn`t even refer to his precise condition, just refers to Alzheimer`s.
 

sussexsue

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Jun 10, 2009
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West Sussex
I think everyone copes in different ways and this is one of the ways he is coping with his illness and trying to remain in control.

It is lovely to hear attitudes like yours where you are enjoying life rather than dwelling on the future - good on you :)
 

Vonny

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Feb 3, 2009
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Telford
Dear Carrie,

I watched this on iPlayer late last night and went to bed in tears. Your words give me so much hope for anyone suffering from this horrible disease, and I'm so pleased for you that you are having a whale of a time. Long may it continue!

Vonny xxx
 

kazza73

Registered User
Feb 11, 2009
878
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Perthshire Scotland
Carrie, it is great to hear that you're still loving life and living it to the full!

I watched the Terry Pratchet thing with interest. I think it is valuable in that it raises awareness of alzheimers and dementia and it also tackles a tabou subject.

Unfortunately my mum, who is only 63, is tormented by her illness, is constantly confused and frightened + has very little quality of life now. An animal would never be allowed to suffer as she is.

I hope you continue to enjoy life to the full for many years to come and continue to have such a positive outlook. It is very refreshing to hear.
K xx
 

jackanory

Registered User
May 10, 2011
17
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mixed feelings

I have read with interest replys about terry i do think he is faceing his problems i to am trying hard i have dementia had mum and two sisters with dementia it was not easy ,i have , also cared for people with dementia it is not easy ,
 

Nanak

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Mar 25, 2010
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Brisbane Australia
As a complete ignoramus who is Terry Pratchett? Somehow the name seems familiar to me:confused:.
Nanak
missing what has gone and scared of what is to come
 

Nanak

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Mar 25, 2010
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Brisbane Australia
Just realised I read it in a book my brother has lent me. My Bonnie by John Suchet :D
Still don't know who Terry Pratchett is though :(
Nanak
missing what has gone and scared of what is to come
 

BeckyJan

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Nov 28, 2005
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Derbyshire
Hello jackanory:

It must have been so hard for you to watch having so much dementia experience. My Dad has Vasc.Dementia and now my husband with Mixed D., a brother also with dementia related to MS, so I do understand you mixed feelings.
 

sussexsue

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Jun 10, 2009
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West Sussex
Still don't know who Terry Pratchett is though :(
Nanak
missing what has gone and scared of what is to come

If you go into any children's library you will soon know who he is. He is a very prolific writer and became popular around the time of the Harry Potter books.

I met him once when he came to run a workshop with some of the children at the secondary school I worked at (I was helping with IT support). He was really inspirational and so good with the kids - he had them mesmerised. Sadly the person I saw in the documentary seemed very different to the one I met all those years ago.
 

jenniferpa

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Jun 27, 2006
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Although he has written a few children's books, I wouldn't say he was a children's author. He is massively popular in the fantasy genre with a dry sense of humour. I really like his books (although, and this is sad, I'm not overly keen on him as person) but there are a few that I don't think are particularly appropriate for children, and that they wouldn't "get" if they read them. Young adult maybe, but that's not how they are sold.

His children's books while excellent of their kind aren't as amusing (as in laugh out loud) - more a gentle humour.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Pratchett
 

sussexsue

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Jun 10, 2009
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West Sussex
Although he has written a few children's books, I wouldn't say he was a children's author. He is massively popular in the fantasy genre with a dry sense of humour. I really like his books (although, and this is sad, I'm not overly keen on him as person) but there are a few that I don't think are particularly appropriate for children, and that they wouldn't "get" if they read them. Young adult maybe, but that's not how they are sold.

His children's books while excellent of their kind aren't as amusing (as in laugh out loud) - more a gentle humour.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Pratchett

Probably right, but I worked in a secondary school where we had a lower school (11-14) and an upper school library (15-18). The books were in the lower school library as 99% of the kids seemed to stop reading books by the time they were 14. His books were very popular.
 

sunny

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Sep 1, 2006
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Loved your post Carrie I found it very uplifting- I am glad you and your partner are having quality time so do Carrie on!!;)

I am pleased that Terry Prachett is causing debate and still being a great communicator, to be able to communicate is a wonderful thing but we take it so much for granted.
 

jenniferpa

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Jun 27, 2006
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Probably right, but I worked in a secondary school where we had a lower school (11-14) and an upper school library (15-18). The books were in the lower school library as 99% of the kids seemed to stop reading books by the time they were 14. His books were very popular.

That's really very sad, Sue. In my own family 50% of the children (i.e. one out of two) no longer read for pleasure. :( It's odd really - the other 3 of us constantly have our heads in books.
 

russellgww

Registered User
Apr 25, 2011
7
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Winchester
I think Terry Pratchett is a nice and sincere man, who is doing what he thinks is the right thing in opening debate. Personally I felt that the programme was fair and balanced - although only taking up a small part of the screen time the sequence in the hospice was very powerful in showing the "other side of the argument."

But actually the whole concept of it being an argument misses the point. Many people, including Liz Carr speaking on the Newsnight discussion afterwards, seem to think that this is the tip of a "slippery slope" in which euthanasia may be undertaken against the patient's will. Interestingly, most of the religious leaders who have spoken on the subject recently seem to be avoiding the religious angle and are trying to argue on logical grounds alone, which seems a little odd to me (surely they are being interviewed because of their religious beliefs).

My FiL is progressing with Alzheimers whilst in denial and amusingly when a friend told him the other day about another friend with the illness at a similar stage he responded "If I ever get like that you must take me out and shoot me." But in fact, with someone able to humour his quirkiness and fantasies, he can and mostly does have a high quality of life. Hopefully that will always continue until he passes naturally and we will certainly do all we can to ensure that is the case.

Hopefully too, when Terry Pratchett himself reaches the point that he now feels would be intolerable, his nearest and dearest will recognise that one's concept of tolerability inevitably changes over time and with circumstances. While today's Terry may be filled with horror that the highpoint of his day may be watching some banal gameshow on TV, when the time comes he might well be perfectly content with that.

The problem is that a great many people don't have much or even any quality of life (by their own definition, which is the only one that counts) or any prospect of improvement. All of us adapt to our circumstances differently and people who remain upbeat despite adversities that would finish me off deserve admiration and support. But those who are weaker and unable to cope shouldn't (in my opinion) be made to suffer.

I have no idea which category I would fall into if the time came for me to confront these issues myself. I rather fear that I might be tempted to take "the easy option" but I guess that many people felt that way and then somehow found an inner strength they didn't know existed.

The saddest part of the programme was that it was quite clear that both men who took their own lives did so whilst admitting they felt they still had things they wanted to live for but went ahead out of fear that it was "now or never." Our laws, in both these cases, had exactly the opposite effect to the one intended.

I don't have any answers, but wish a little more genuine compassion was brought to bear on the debate.