The Story Of One Woman's Decision To End Her Life

Diane Rehm: On My Mind

WAMU 88.5

Artists And Thinkers Right Here As Diane Transitions This Podcast To Weekly Episodes That We’ll Be Calling “On My Mind.”, News, Writers, Fans Of The Diane Rehm Show Can Continue To Listen To Its Trademark Conversations With Newsmakers

4.7 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 23 May 2024

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Diana Williams lived a rich life by any measure. She was a wife, a mother, a traveler, and the founder of a job training organization at San Quentin prison in California.

But for three decades, Williams was plagued by mysterious symptoms. These included exhaustion, night sweats, brain fog, and throbbing headaches and chills that left her bedridden for days.

Specialists diagnosed her with a series of maladies such as multiple sclerosis, Lyme disease, and toxic mold exposure. They prescribed grueling treatments that took up time, money, and ultimately proved unsuccessful.

Williams eventually decided enough was enough. In January of this year, she traveled to Dignitas, a “death with dignity” group in Switzerland, and ended her life.

In December 2023, just weeks before her “death date,” Williams joined Diane for a conversation about her agonizing choice and why she felt it was so important to tell her story of “a life well lived, a death well planned.”

You can read more about Diana Williams’s story in her posthumously published memoir, “Traveling Solo.”

Transcript

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0:00.0	I it's Diane on my mind should we be able to choose when our life will end.
0:14.0	It was time and I had come to terms with it myself.
0:18.0	Diana Williams lived a rich life.
0:22.0	She was wife, mother, and
0:24.0	the job training organization in California prisons.
0:29.5	But for three decades, she was plagued by mysterious symptoms, grinding exhaustion, brain fog,
0:38.4	throbbing headaches and chills.
0:41.2	She was bedridden for days. Specialist diagnosed her with multiple sclerosis,
0:48.5	Lyme disease, toxic mold exposure. prescribed ruling expensive and ultimately in affected
0:58.6	treatments. She finally decided enough was enough.
1:05.0	In January, Williams traveled to Dignitoss in Switzerland
1:10.8	and ended her life. I had the privilege of talking with her in December
1:17.8	2023 just weeks before her death date.
1:23.7	Here is that conversation.
1:27.7	Hello, Diana, thank you for joining us today.
1:32.3	Well, thank you for being interested in my story.
1:36.0	I'm very grateful.
1:38.0	Tell me first, how are you feeling today?
1:41.0	Well, so many ways to answer that question. I feel the time ticking. I'm
1:49.0	leaving on the 8th of January and the death date is January 11th so and all of the emotions and ups and downs that are going in my head around that and then physically feeling
2:06.6	the way I have for a very long time which is very sick and not really able to leave the house very often or interact with people very often.
2:20.0	It takes a tremendous amount of effort to do that.
	...

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