Volume 4, Issue 8, August 2023
Charles Williams
Pages 39-48
Intervention
Is there a difference between the right to end your own life quickly, vs slowly? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, Bill has decided it is time for a family intervention. His younger brother Tom gained 100 pounds after his wife died and it is affecting his health. His doctor’s have advised him to lose weight and proscribed him medication he refuses to take. Bill tells his plan to their sister, who opts out of the family intervention, arguing it’s his life, and if anyone should be having an intervention, it should be his daughters. Bill disagrees and, after a fishing trip, confronts Tom about his weight. Tom pushes back, arguing that eating makes him happy, that he doesn’t want to live to become an invalid, and that many cultures view obesity in a positive light. Eventually, Tom agrees he will consider making eating habit changes, but only if Bill and the rest of the family quit pestering him.