Wow. There isn't much else to say. What Matt, Lecretia and their families went through is something I don't ever have to do. I have my thoughts and feelings on this subject and it really made me look at it from another's point of view. This book was very well written and you can feel the love Matt had for his wife and how devastated he was.

Books such as this are neither good, nor bad, just varying degrees of horribleness. This is Matt's account of his beautiful wife, Lecretia's battle against a virulent brain tumour plus a fight with the New Zealand government to change the law so that people in similar situations can choose how and when to die. She was a successful high flying lawyer when she started getting the first worrying symptoms of this merciless illness. Brutally honest about what happened, how they coped, his feelings and the shortcomings of the New Zealand health service. Very sad, but uplifting at the same time.

I do not like to rate memoirs because I believe they are all very personal journeys.

I enjoyed this novel and found it extremely easy to read. It flowed well with the first half describing how Matt and Lecretia met and the development of their relationship. It also went into their fertility issues but I felt it was most likely reminiscent of many peoples experiences.

Then at the age of 37 years old after a few falls and sight issues Lecretia is diagnosed with brain cancer and given only weeks to live without urgent surgery. She progresses through a number of surgeries and chemotherapy regimes. I loved reading the parts of their travels in the earlier part of her diagnosis and their simple appreciation of them. Over time she becomes a supporter of the 'End of Life Choice Bill'. The second half of the book delves into her efforts to change the law.

It is obvious that Lecretia had great courage and a fantastic sense of humour and their love for each other shone through. Matt's work did take him away at times but it also gave him a chance to recharge and be there for her. Very sad but I feel the story is told with love and dignity.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy to read and review.

So glad I had the chance to read this.......what a courageous couple ! The text was so well written yet easy to read despite the difficult subject matter. This should be essential no mandated reading material for all junior doctors and in fact all those in the caring professions. I am just so sad that Matt had to write for them both. Thank you for helping me see.........

Lecretia's Choice : A story of love, death & the law is a most fitting title for author Matt Vickers' touching tribute to his late wife.      Throughout this book it was clearly evident Matt was deeply in love with his wife Lecretia.   Not only that but he admired and respected her and they were wonderful companions, absolutely devoted to and supportive of each other.      That they were relatively young and in love, trying to start a family when Lecretia was diagnosed with brain cancer would be story enough.     That they both came from humble beginnings yet had achieved success in high profile careers was another thread to this interesting biography.    Lecretia was working long hours as a senior legal and policy advisor with the New Zealand Law Commission when diagnosed.      She continued to work tirelessly toward law reform as much as possible throughout her illness.   Like many countries in the world assisted dying was not legal in New Zealand.   With a vested interest in producing change in her country, not just for herself but for other terminally ill individuals, Lecretia strove to change the law with respect to assisted dying.   She wanted to bring change so that individuals with terminal illnesses had the right to choose how they died, to allow them the chance to die with dignity and without suffering.   Matt wrote <block quote>" Lecretia had decided , somewhere deep inside her, that she would not be cancer’s victim. She would make every day count. If she suffered, but the law changed, it meant others would not needlessly suffer. With the cancer taking everything from her— her hope of children, her career, and her future— she had still found a purpose, one that was consistent with her calling as a reformer of the law" </block quote>

Naturally a large part of the book was devoted to law, and in particular to Lecretia's High Court case <i>Seales vs Attorney General</i>.   Not only did this prove highly interesting but it inspired in me a hunger for further information not only about Lecretia and Matt but about the progress of the NZ Select Committee into medically assisted dying.

This was truly an engaging read.   I would love to have met Lecretia who seemed a highly intelligent but equally likeable person.  If you have any interest whatsoever in the moral and ethical aspects of Euthanasia, if you are interested in the workings of the NZ  law, and if you want all of this wrapped up in a beautiful love story which is sad but not overly sentimental you definitely should read this book.    I'm very glad I did and thank Matt Vickers for writing Lecretia's story.

Thanks also to The Text Publishing Company and NetGalley for the opportunity to read Lecretia's Choice.   It was my pleasure to provide my review in exchange for this free digital ARC.

Moving and memorable.

This was a very moving book and, for the most part, beautifully written. It starts nice and simply with the author telling us of how he and Lecretia met, their courtship, it was really quite sweet. Also appealing to me was the travel aspect as he goes on a backpacking trip to Thailand and the UK. I enjoyed reading all the travel details, where he went, the places they visited together etc. It’s the start of a beautiful journey together and they look forward to trying for a family.

After finding his soul mate, their happiness is to be thrown a massive bombshell: Lecretia has a brain tumour.

This was so moving, so poignant. For me, it just lost something when there were long stretches of legal stuff. I found it a bit rambling and think that a lot of it didn't need to be there-the writing was at its best when concentrating on telling about Lecretia and Matt.

This is the story of an amazing woman, her fight with cancer, and the fight for her right to die with dignity.

I read this over two nights, it was a good but emotional read . I wish lecretia had got what she fought so hard for which was to die on her own terms . Her strength came through from Matt's writing and anyone who doesn't agree with euthanasia should read this.

I really enjoyed the first half of this book, reading about Matt and Lecretia's blossoming romance and their rather smooth journey to true love and marriage. Matt gave just enough detail to keep the reader interested and invested in their story, without going overboard on details; sometimes with biographical accounts there can be too much historical detail which makes the book drag.

It was very fascinating - but incredibly sad and moving - to read about Lucretia's deterioration following diagnosis with a cancerous brain tumour. It is horrifying to think that these kinds of things can happen, but so admirable the way Lecretia dealt with her fate.

As for the second half of the book, I found that for me personally there was too much jargon about the law related to assisted dying, making it difficult for me to get my head round. I'm a fairly academic person so I was surprised that I found this tricky - perhaps it was the contrast between the easy-reading first half of the book and the very technical second half that put me off. I raced through the first half, and the second half I had to really force my self to finish.

That being said, Matt's writing ability can not be faulted. He wrote this so well, and I feel he did a great job of portraying Lecretia's story and her battle to have the law changed. The love and passion between the two of them is clear for all to say, and so very heartwarming. I found myself very invested in this story, willing that Matt has gone on to find happiness in whatever comes his way after the loss of his lovely wife.

I would highly recommend this book; I simply could't offer more than three stars due to how much I struggled to wrap my head round the latter half of the book.

When I read the synopsis, I had no hesitation in downloading this e-book. The reason being is that someone very close to our family has Huntingdon's disease. She has already vowed that when the time comes, she wants to end her life.

This was a very well written book and very moving. One that I can certainly relate to. Words fail me, but I would highly recommend.

My thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers. This is my honest review.

This book was very emotional for me. It takes you deep into the life of Lecretia, who is terminally ill. It is not a subject that is spoken about, but it shoudl be amongst family and friends. The book was hard to read but Matt and Lecretia were there for each other. After reading this book, it opened up my eyes on how precious life is and those that are in our lives. Great writing, it made me feel like i was there with them both. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

Oh my. This is one of those books that makes you want to stand up and start shouting, marching, rallying and take up the fight on behalf of the author and the subject of the book.
Through Matt's I fell head over heels in love with Lecretia too. I wonder if my husband thinks of me the way Matt thought of her? It seems unlikely as their marriage seems to be one of those perfect unions where both parties shine in each other's company.
That this courageous, intelligent and fun young woman had to go through what she did is terrible but that she spent her final weeks going to court to ask for her own wants and needs to be respected beggars belief.
This book seems to be the story of Lecretia's fight and of their personal story but Matt goes so much further than that. I learned so much about assisted dying from reading this. I am from the UK where it is still not legal and I think I had assumed it was pretty much only available in Switzerland because I knew of Dignitas. To hear how many other countries, South Africa, Canada, multiple US states have started allowing some form of assisted death scheme was eye opening and made me even more angry than I was before that it isn't allowable here, having watched the likes of Diane Pretty fight it in our courts. I felt guilty that the NZ laws are based on ours and that 'we' affected Lecretia's choices in that way.
By telling us what made up the evidence in Lecretia's case, Matt laid out the arguments on all sides and provided the statistics, all of which as I suspected do not show that the right to die leads to legions of elderly relatives being killed by their families which is the most common argument.
Please read this book. I am now considering speaking to my MP as if the new British Bill of Rights (that has been mentioned following our sad departure from the EU) does come about then I would like assisted death to be included as a right for all citizens.
Thank you Matt, so much for writing this book as I know becoming a public figure was not what you ever envisioned for yourself. Please know that Lecretia's work was not in vain and neither has yours been.

This was a sweet and sad story but you can tell that the author is definitely not a writer.

Beautifully written story. Young couple goes through her cancer diagnosis together. She is an Attorney and fought for the right to die law. Sad story but one that needs to be told.