Noel Manning

Sleep Softly, Mama Noel Manning

Suicide, murder, or an understandable decision? For more than a year, Eva McLawton Ellis imposed on herself unbearable and unnecessary pain that she might have avoided. She, who cared so much for the comfort of others, withheld from herself--whether by chance or design--relief that was so readily available. Her cruel, senseless suffering and death brought untold misery for others--misery that she never intended. This aged, forever kind and gentle woman, through the behavior described in this book, seemed unaware of the emotional turmoil that she kindled through one of her last momentous decisions. Eva McLawton Ellis never fully perceived the torment that a binding promise, which she demanded of her children, caused for those she loved most. The author's mother chose death over life, since life was dictated by something outside her control. Some have suggested that her "unnecessarily cruel death was self-designed." Others have dared to say that her youngest son killed her--or at the very least allowed her to die, when he might have interceded. Did she die according to the natural order of events? The author does not know with real assurance. Her "right to die" will long be debated by scientists, laymen, and moralists alike. The author, her son, can only hope that someday he will be able to forget that terrible time that still haunts him after 20 years....