My dad's assisted death was a parting gift. I wish I'd said so in his obituary

This First Person column is written by Kelley Korbin, who lives in West Vancouver, B.C. For more information about CBC’s First Person stories, please see the FAQ.

My father’s death was something I’d worried about for decades — probably since I learned that smoking kills. But years of pre-emptive angst didn’t prepare me for the crushing heartache that landed like a rock on my chest when he finally died from lung cancer at 82 last year. 

I couldn’t have known how the deliberate way he chose to die would become part of his legacy. Or that Mom’s reticence would prevent me from