A Time to Live, a Time to Die

Magargle shares the faith-shattering experience of choosing to remove life support from her daughter in this lyrical memoir. In 1993, Magargle’s college-bound daughter, Stacey, was involved in a serious car crash while the rest of the family was away on vacation. The family raced home only to learn that massive brain trauma had left Stacy nonresponsive. For the next several months, Magargle and her husband agonized and struggled with the faint hope that Stacy’s condition might improve. Magargle charts her frustrations with health insurance companies, medical professionals, and well-meaning but inappropriately meddling acquaintances as she wrestled with a life-or-death decision. In between discussions of brain injuries and her emotional challenges, Magargle offers key points for others to consider when wondering what a Christian response to hopeless medical scenarios should be, such as faith in God’s love and living with grace. Some of Magargle’s lingering irritation with her husband and others still bleeds through despite her claim of transformative forgiveness, and she occasionally gets lost in emotive but meandering descriptions. But as a candid look at end-of-life decisions, Magargle’s memoir will help others approach the issue with more hope and empathy. (BookLife)