# Final Exit

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For the Indian film, see [The Final Exit (film)](/source/The_Final_Exit_(film)).

***Final Exit: The Practicalities of Self-Deliverance and Assisted Suicide for the Dying**,* often shortened to just ***Final Exit***, is a 1991 book written by [Derek Humphry](/source/Derek_Humphry), a [British](/source/Great_Britain)-born [American](/source/Americans) [journalist](/source/Journalism), [author](/source/Author), and [assisted suicide](/source/Assisted_suicide) advocate who co-founded the (defunct) [Hemlock Society](/source/Hemlock_Society) in 1980 and co-founded the [Final Exit Network](/source/Final_Exit_Network) in 2004. The book was published in 1991 by the Hemlock Society US in hardback. The following year, its 2nd edition was published by Dell in trade paperback. An updated edition was published in 2010.[1]

The book, often described as a "[suicide](/source/Suicide) manual", describes the means that the [terminally ill](/source/Terminal_illness) may use to end their lives. The book outlines relevant [laws](/source/Legality_of_euthanasia), techniques, and [living wills](/source/Advance_healthcare_directive).[2] *Final Exit* was perceived as controversial,[3] and it drove debate regarding the [right to die](/source/Right_to_die). Another concern was that people who were [mentally ill](/source/Mentally_ill) could use information in the book to end their lives.[4][5] Despite the controversy, *Final Exit* reached #1 on [*The New York Times* Best Seller list](/source/The_New_York_Times_Best_Seller_list) in August 1991.[6]

[Final Exit Network](/source/Final_Exit_Network) claims that approximately 750,000 copies have been sold in the United States and Canada and approximately 500,000 elsewhere. The book is banned in [France](/source/France).[7] *Final Exit* is Derek Humphry's third book on the subject of self-euthanasia; it was preceded by *[Jean's Way](/source/Jean's_Way)* (1978) and *The Right to Die: Understanding Euthanasia* (1986).

## Success of the book

In 1991, *Final Exit* spent 18 weeks on *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)* non-fiction [Best Seller list](/source/The_New_York_Times_Best_Seller_list), it reached #1 in August and was selected by *[USA Today](/source/USA_Today)* in 2007 as one of the 25 most influential books of the quarter century.[8]

It has been translated into 12 languages.[9] The original [English language](/source/English_language) version is in its third edition.

In 2000, Derek Humphry recorded a [VHS](/source/VHS) video version of the information in the book;[10] a [DVD](/source/DVD) version[11] and a [Kindle](/source/Amazon_Kindle) version[12] were released in 2006 and 2011, respectively. A 4th edition, *Final Exit 2020*, was released as an [ebook](/source/Ebook).

The ethicist [Peter Singer](/source/Peter_Singer) included it on a list of his top ten books in *[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)*.[13]

It has been alleged that members of the [Heaven's Gate cult](/source/Heaven's_Gate_cult) used information from Humphry's book in order to commit mass suicide.[14] In response, Humphry said, "It's as bad as someone going into a gun shop and purchasing guns for self-defense or target practice and then using them for mass murder."[15]

## Reception

*Final Exit* has been a frequent target of censors; the book appears on the [American Library Association](/source/American_Library_Association) list of the 100 Most [Frequently Challenged Books](/source/List_of_most_commonly_challenged_books_in_the_U.S.) of 1990–1999 at number 29.[16]

## See also

- [Euthanasia device](/source/Euthanasia_device)
- [Final Exit Network](/source/Final_Exit_Network)
- [Suicide](/source/Suicide)
- [Suicide methods](/source/Suicide_methods)
- *[The Complete Manual of Suicide](/source/The_Complete_Manual_of_Suicide)* by Wataru Tsurumi
- *[The Peaceful Pill Handbook](/source/The_Peaceful_Pill_Handbook)* by [Philip Nitschke](/source/Philip_Nitschke)

## References

1. ["Final Exit, 3rd Edition by Derek Humphry (updated April 2010) – ERGO"](https://www.finalexit.org/final-exit-book.html). *www.finalexit.org*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210516180114/https://www.finalexit.org/final-exit-book.html) 2021-05-16 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2022-05-14.

1. ["4 assisted suicide group members are arrested"](https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna29411514). *NBC News*. 26 February 2009. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210603123253/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna29411514) 2021-06-03 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2022-05-14.

1. ["Suicide Book Stirring Controversy And Sales"](https://www.chicagotribune.com/1991/08/14/suicide-book-stirring-controversy-and-sales/). *[Chicago Tribune](/source/Chicago_Tribune)*. 14 August 1991. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180204000411/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1991-08-14/news/9103280566_1_best-seller-list-final-exit-new-york-times-best-seller) 2018-02-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2018-02-03.

1. Majchrowicz, Michael (July 6, 2016). ["The Volunteers Who Help People End Their Own Lives"](https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/07/the-volunteers-who-help-people-end-their-own-lives/489602/). *The Atlantic*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180205184514/https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/07/the-volunteers-who-help-people-end-their-own-lives/489602/) February 5, 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 5, 2018.

1. Joyce, Jaime (27 December 2013). ["Kill Me Now: The Troubled Life And Complicated Death Of Jana Van Voorhis"](https://www.buzzfeed.com/jaimejoyce/kill-me-now-the-troubled-life-and-complicated-death-of-jana). *BuzzFeed*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180321192826/https://www.buzzfeed.com/jaimejoyce/kill-me-now-the-troubled-life-and-complicated-death-of-jana) 2018-03-21 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2018-02-05.

1. Altman, Lawrence K. (August 9, 1991). ["How-To Book on Suicide Is Atop Best-Seller List"](https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/09/us/how-to-book-on-suicide-is-atop-best-seller-list.html). *The New York Times*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180213130441/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/09/us/how-to-book-on-suicide-is-atop-best-seller-list.html) February 13, 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 10, 2018. – via NYTimes.com.

1. ["Questions – Answers"](https://web.archive.org/web/20191130202723/http://www.finalexitnetwork.org/Questions---Answers.html). Archived from [the original](http://www.finalexitnetwork.org/Questions---Answers.html) on 2019-11-30. Retrieved 2018-02-03.

1. ["25 Books that leave a legacy - USATODAY.com"](http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/top25-books.htm). *usatoday30.usatoday.com*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20130414053643/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/top25-books.htm) 2013-04-14 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2014-10-07.

1. ["'Final Exit' book updated for 2010 | Assisted-Dying Blog"](https://assisted-dying.org/blog/2010/05/14/final-exit-book-updated-for-2010/). May 14, 2010. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210603074921/https://assisted-dying.org/blog/2010/05/14/final-exit-book-updated-for-2010/) June 3, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 14, 2022.

1. Humphry, Derek (2 April 2003). *Final Exit*. ERGO Bookstore. ISBN 0963728024.

1. ["Final Exit on DVD by Derek Humphry – ERGO"](https://www.finalexit.org/final-exit-on-dvd.html). *www.finalexit.org*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20201125194247/https://www.finalexit.org/final-exit-on-dvd.html) 2020-11-25 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2022-05-14.

1. Humphry, Derek (30 June 2011). [*Final Exit Digital Edition (2011 KE): The Practicalities of Self-Deliverance and Assisted Suicide for the Dying*](https://www.amazon.com/Final-Exit-Digital-2011-Self-Deliverance-ebook/dp/B004TGU1VY). 3.1 edition. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220514014510/https://www.amazon.com/Final-Exit-Digital-2011-Self-Deliverance-ebook/dp/B004TGU1VY) 2022-05-14 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2018-02-05. – via Amazon.

1. Singer, Peter (6 April 2001). ["Peter Singer's top 10 books"](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/apr/06/bestbooks.philosophy). *The Guardian*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20140509171446/http://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/apr/06/bestbooks.philosophy) 9 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 6 April 2012.

1. Chryssides, George D (2018). ["Suicide, Suicidology, and Heaven's Gate"](https://www.jstor.org/stable/26671570). *Journal of Religion and Violence*. **6** (2): 191–205. [doi:10.5840/jrv20188153](https://doi.org/10.5840/jrv20188153). [JSTOR 26671570](https://www.jstor.org/stable/26671570). Retrieved 5 August 2024.

1. ["Gates of Hell"](https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/1997/05/18/gates-of-hell/62314035007/). *The Oklahoman*. Retrieved 5 August 2024.

1. Office of Intellectual Freedom (2013-03-26). ["100 most frequently challenged books: 1990–1999"](https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/decade1999). *American Library Association*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20201010162859/http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/decade1999) 2020-10-10 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-06-20.

- The archives of the Hemlock Society and Derek Humphry are at the Allen Library, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

## Bibliography

- Docker, Chris "Five Last Acts II and The Exit Path"
- Humphry, Derek (1991). *Final Exit: The Practicalities of Self-Deliverance and Assisted Suicide for the Dying*. ISBN 0-9606030-3-4.
- Humphry, Derek (2000). *Supplement to Final Exit*. ISBN 978-0-9637280-3-6
- Humphry, Derek (2002). *Final Exit: The Practicalities of Self-Deliverance and Assisted Suicide for the Dying*, 3rd edition. ISBN 0-385-33653-5. Delta Trade Paperback. Revised and updated.
- Humphry, Derek (2002). *Let Me Die Before I Wake & Supplement to Final Exit*. ISBN 978-1-4011-0286-9
- Humphry, Derek (2008) *Good Life, Good Death: Memoir of an investigative reporter and pro-choice advocate*. Hardcopy and eBook. ISBN 978-0-9768283-3-4
- Smith, Dinitia (1992-01-06). ["The Happy Hawker: Tyro Publisher Steven Schragis's Genius for Promoting Schlock"](https://books.google.com/books?id=f-MCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA40). *[New York](/source/New_York_(magazine))*. Vol. 25, no. 1. pp. 40–46. [ISSN 0028-7369](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0028-7369)
- Sutherland, John (2008) *Curiosities of Literature*

## External links

- [Official website](http://www.finalexit.org/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Final Exit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Exit) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Exit?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.