Crossroads Lecture: Transforming Our Dying

from Sue Kimball

Sunday, September 22, 4 p.m., Orcas Center

Barbara Coombs Lee

Orcas Crossroads Lecture Series will host Barbara Coombs Lee, who will present “Transforming Our Dying” on Sunday, September 22, 2014, 4 p.m. at Orcas Center.

It’s never too early to think about the end of your life. That’s the philosophy of Compassion & Choices, a national organization that was created in 2003. Barbara Coombs Lee is President of this organization whose goal is to improve care and expand choice at life’s end.

She was an author of Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act, campaigned for its passage and defended it from legal and political challenge. She calls on the Baby Boomer generation to challenge Medicine’s death phobia, lead it away from end-of-life technological boondoggles and allow people to choose more graceful, responsible and life-affirming experiences. How can we take charge and control our own last chapters?

The question isn’t one of suicide, says Barbara Coombs Lee, president of the national group, which splits its headquarters between Portland, Ore., and Denver. “It might just be about discontinuing extraordinary measures,” says Lee, who is based in Portland. “Having the conversation about what people want is what we help them with.”

Come with your questions for the Q & A session after the lecture, and join us for a reception following the presentation. Please note that our fall lectures will be starting at 4 p.m.

Tickets are $10 and available at Darvill’s Bookstore, online, or at the door. Some complimentary tickets are available in advance at the Senior Center.

Crossroads next lecture features two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, David Horsey, who will share his cartoons and opinions about American politics. Horsey will present on Sunday, October 7, 2 p.m. at Orcas Center, and throughout September enjoy an exhibit of 30 original cartoons from Horsey in the Orcas Center lobby.

Orcas Crossroads Lecture Series is supported by our Crossroads Associates Circle, the Daniel and Margaret Carper Foundation, and Individual Contributors. Find more information at the Orcas Crossroads website.