Gildenhorn Book Talk with Diane Rehm
The Alma and Joseph Gildenhorn Book Series features Diane Rehm, Host of The Diane Rehm Show on WAMU 88.5 FM American University Radio, on her recent memoir On My Own (Alfred A. Knopf). The discussion will be co-moderated by Aspen Institute Executive Vice President Elliot Gerson and Dr. Jessica Herzstein.
About On My Own:
In a deeply personal and moving book, the beloved NPR radio host speaks out about the long drawn-out death (from Parkinson’s) of her husband of fifty-four years, and of her struggle to reconstruct her life without him.
John’s unnecessarily extended death—he begged to be helped to die—culminated in his taking matters into his own hands, simply refusing to take water, food, and medication. His heroic actions spurred Diane into becoming a kind of poster person for the “right to die” movement that is all too slowly taking shape in our country. With the brave determination that has characterized her whole life, she is finding a meaningful new way to contribute to the world.
Her book—as practical as it is inspiring—will be a help and a comfort to the recently bereaved, and a beacon of hope about the possibilities that remain to us as we deal with our own approaching mortality.
About the Author:
Diane Rehm has hosted The Diane Rehm Show on WAMU 88.5 FM in Washington, DC—distributed by NPR—since 1979; the show has a weekly listening audience of two and a half million. Currently, it is broadcast on nearly two hundred stations and SiriusXM Satellite Radio across the country, as well as internationally by Armed Forces Radio Network. She lives in Washington, DC.