Books

A Life That Matters: The Legacy of Terri Schiavo, A Lesson for Us All

By Terri Schiavo’s Family

A year after Terri Schiavo’s controversial death, her parents and siblings share their love and sorrow, their joy and pain, and stunning revelations as they celebrate Terri’s life, mourn her death, and tell the whole story of the woman and the battle that captivated millions.

Fighting for Dear Life: The Untold Story of Terri Schiavo and What It Means for All of Us

By David Gibbs, Bob DeMoss

A behind-the-scenes glimpse at the real story of Terri Schiavo—”the truth which has been withheld from you… that we were not able to introduce as evidence in court”—Gibbs, the lead attorney for Terri’s parents, argues that Terri’s court-ordered death was a gross miscarriage of justice. She was, he claims, able to respond to people and stimuli. She was not on life support or in a coma and she was not in a “persistent vegetative state.” Gibbs portrays Terri Schiavo’s husband, Michael, as a villain responsible for perpetrating these ideas in the press and for forbidding cameras in Terri’s room so the world could not see that, though disabled, she was not brain-dead. Gibbs raises ethical questions that he says should be of deep concern to all Christians. At times, Gibbs’s book reads like the theatrical closing arguments of a courtroom drama, with the obligatory rhetorical flourish. Despite the bias, this is a passionate book about an issue of great importance in our time.

Terri’s Story: The Court-Ordered Death of an American Woman

By Diana Lynne

Most Americans had never heard of Terri Schindler Schiavo when the controversy over her court-ordered death exploded upon the scene in March 2005. For more than twelve years she had languished, her body slowly deteriorating in the absence of rehabilitative therapy, while the value of her life was litigated in the courts and weighed by legislators. Although she was neither dying nor dependent on machines for her life, many felt the brain-injured woman who relied on a feeding tube for nourishment should die. This book provides the background and depth missing in most of the national news coverage of the battle to save Terri Schiavo’s life.

Sacrifice for God and Country

By Monsignor Thaddeus Malanowski, Terri Schiavo’s Priest

The autobiography of a Roman Catholic Priest/Chaplain who rose to the rank of Brigadier General in the U.S. Army, reflecting on his experiences as a priest and soldier. In addition to his priestly duties following his military service, Monsignor Malanowski served the poor of Haiti and was the court appointed chaplain to Terri Schindler Schiavo of which a considerable portion of this book reflects on the true value of human life. Travel with him through the 20th century as he reflects on his interaction with several U.S. Presidents, Catholic Church spiritual leaders such as John Paul II, Pius XII, Cardinal Cooke, Cardinal Spellman, Teresa Neumann, and in his military service many high ranking Generals and even soldiers such as Elivis Presley.

Silent Witness: The Untold Story of Terri Schiavo’s Death

By Mark Fuhrman

We all watched Terri Schiavo die. The controversy around her case dominated the headlines and talk shows, going all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, the White House, and the Vatican. And it’s not over yet. Despite her death, the controversy lingers. In Silent Witness, former LAPD detective and New York Times bestselling author Mark Fuhrman applies his highly respected investigative skills to examine the medical evidence, legal case files, and police records. With the complete cooperation of Terri Schiavo’s parents and siblings, as well as their medical and legal advisers, he conducts exclusive interviews with forensics experts and crucial witnesses, including friends, family members, and caregivers.

Remembering Terri Schiavo: Reflections of a Health Care Warrior

By Audrey Ignatoff

This is a memorial to Terri Schiavo. It is an analysis of her life and death from a medical sociological perspective. Her case is very important because it will have an impact on the disabled population and may lead to euthanasia. It is important for people in the nursing home and hospice industry to be familiar with this case.

Forced Exit: Euthanasia, Assisted Suicide and the New Duty to Die

By Wesley J. Smith

Imagine you have just been admitted to the hospital and are asked to sign a living will, giving the hospital the right not to prolong your life if you fall into a coma. You sign, thinking that the living will serves only to prevent medical staff from taking “extraordinary measures,” such as putting you on a breathing machine in such a situation. Think again. Living wills have already been used to deny patients treatment they needed and wanted.

Culture of Death: The Assault on Medical Ethics in America

By Wesley Smith

When his teenaged son Christopher, brain-damaged in an auto accident, developed a 106-degree fever following weeks of unconsciousness, John Campbell asked the attending physician for help. The doctor refused. Why bother? The boy’s life was effectively over. Campbell refused to accept this verdict. He demanded treatment and threatened legal action. The doctor finally relented. With treatment, Christopher’s temperature subsided almost immediately. Soon afterwards he regained consciousness and today he is learning to walk again.

The Power of the Powerless: A Brother’s Legacy of Love

By Christopher de Vinck

I grew up in the house where my brother was on his back in his bed for almost 33 years, in the same corner of his room, under the same window, beside the same yellow walls. Oliver was blind, mute. His legs were twisted. He didn’t have the strength to lift his head nor the intelligence to learn anything. Today I am an English teacher, and each time I introduce my class to the play about Helen Keller, “The Miracle Worker,” I tell my students about Oliver. One day, during my first year teaching, a boy in the last row raised his hand and said, “Oh, Mr. de Vinck. You mean he was a vegetable.”

Fighting for David: A True Story of Stubborn Love, Faith, and Hope beyond Reason

By Leone Nunley, Dean Merrill

After a terrible motorcycle accident, doctors told Leone Nunley that her son David was in a “persistent coma and vegetative state”-the same diagnosis faced by Terri Schiavo’s family. Fighting for David is the story of Leone’s courageous battle for David’s life and his family’s fight to help him overcome many of his disabilities. (Remarkably, David can now speak, walk with the aid of a walker, and with the help of a caregiver, live in his own home.) After witnessing this amazing-if less-than-perfect-outcome, Leone is uniquely qualified to help readers understand why even “imperfect” life has value and why faith and persistence can be more powerful than a doctor’s diagnosis.

Kate’s Journey: Triumph Over Adversity

By Kate Adamson

Kate Adamson survived one-in-a-million odds to enjoy the success she has today. For every challenge we face, Kate’s story teaches us how to meet those challenges with grace and valor. When Kate experienced a double brain-stem stroke her bright tomorrow turned into a dark timeless tunnel. The lessons she learned are a model for anyone who feels their goals are just out of reach. Kate’s story connects the fragility of life with the power of the human spirit.

Locked in to Life

By R. Patton Howell, James Hall

In 1991 while traveling in his professional capacity of Jungian psychiatrist, James Hall falls ill, beginning the rest of his life as a man who must deal with the limitations of being “locked-in,” a form of stroke so devastating and complete that the resulting physical damage is considered a death sentence. In living his life with Locked-in Syndrome, Dr. Hall brings to bear the significant and formidable intellect of his professional training to consider questions, and answers, which only a man of his experience could entertain.

Terri Schiavo’s Story