The Spectrum of Living



Janice Van Dyck, the author of FINDING FRANCES, approaches this task of dealing with a family's struggle with the issue of conflicting decisions about death and dying with a strong background of gifts: she is an executive coach and communications specialist, has a fine first novel ('The O'Malley Trilogy') under her belt, and most important, she is writing from her own experience with the topic at hand. This novel is a biographical examination of how the author's family cope

The Spectrum of Living



Janice Van Dyck, the author of FINDING FRANCES, approaches this task of dealing with a family's struggle with the issue of conflicting decisions about death and dying with a strong background of gifts: she is an executive coach and communications specialist, has a fine first novel ('The O'Malley Trilogy') under her belt, and most important, she is writing from her own experience with the topic at hand. This novel is a biographical examination of how the author's family coped with the issues of a dying parent. It is a well-written, balanced discussion from all aspects about choices made about the time of death, fast paced novel that carries a mighty wallop - an introduction for all of us to meditate on the aspects the novel explores about an individual's participation in that 'final event'.



Frances is in her mid-seventies, has been a life long smoker, and now faces the diagnosis of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease - or emphysema - and the strains that disease places on all organ systems of the body. She is married to an emotionally ill-equipped Bill, and is mother to William, a medical school dropout married to a dermatologist, to Randy who left home after high school unable to cope with the lack of love for his parents and became a lawyer, and to Cynthia ('Sugar') who is divorced and somewhat rigid in her approach to change. Frances develops complications form her disease, decides she is unwilling to live a life supported by machines, and has elected to dimply die: she is ready mentally and spiritually. An acute problem results in a hospitalization with concomitant surgeries and defibrillation episodes and her family gathers round: old animosities and gaps in communication surface and there is considerable discussion about Frances' decision to discontinue living. Terms such as assisted suicide, hospice care, hardened medical advice, insurance inadequacies in understanding the life cycle all arise an it falls to William, the one who never wanted to become involved in life and death situations or the agonies of being a doctor, is the chosen one to support Frances' wishes. Each of the family members as well as each of the hospital personnel represent the multiple facets of coming to intelligent decisions about the right to die and the right to human dignity. With seamless empathy Van Dyck encourages the reader to hear all aspects of the sticky topic and finds a way to have the story end on a positive note.



Many books about the end of life have been written -both inspiring and boring - and Janice Van Dyck has made the wise decision to write a novel based on fact that is immensely readable and warmly understanding.



Grady Harp