The problem with #1 is that it won't be me, alone, whose life will be rent asunder. (Dementia is part of my condition, and though it is currently well-controlle

The problem with #1 is that it won't be me, alone, whose life will be rent asunder. (Dementia is part of my condition, and though it is currently well-controlled, I am aware of a steady, gradual decline, the emotions that flare up out of frustration, and more than a little irrational thinking. I've watched my family and friends go through this before, too many times.) My current hope is that when I've gotten too stupid to live, I'll do something so spectacularly stupid that the problem is largely self-correcting (and, if all goes well, wins me a Darwin on the way out). There is no comfortable way to lose a loved one, but some are far more damaging than others. I hate even the thought that the people who care about me will still care about and be hurt by me even when I am no longer myself in any real sense. I might not chase obvious quackery, but anything that's an experimental coin toss might not be out of the question,say, this time next year.