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At the age of 27, Dr. Peg Sandeen faced an impossible request. Her husband, John, who\\xa0was dying from HIV/AIDS, told Peg that he\\xa0couldn\\u2019t\\xa0stand the pain anymore and wanted her to help him end his life. It was the early 1990\\u2019s though and there was no legal avenue for Peg to help John in\\xa0his wish to die with the dignity he had in life. Peg went on to get both a Master\'s and Ph.D. in social work. Throughout that time, the memory of John\\u2019s last wish motivated her to\\xa0work towards changing the landscape for people facing the end of life. Dr. Sandeen is now the Executive Director of Death\\xa0With\\xa0Dignity,\\xa0working\\xa0in end-of-life advocacy and\\xa0fighting for medical aid in dying laws across the U.S.\\xa0\\xa0

In our conversation we discuss:

• Meeting and falling in love with John
• Getting the news of John\'s HIV diagnosis
• How Hannah and John talked with their daughter Hannah about her father\'s illness
• The shame and stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS
• Caregiving for a dying husband as a young mother and wife
• The current state of right to die laws across the U.S.
• Moving from an intellectual to emotional understanding of grief
• Learning to support Hannah in her grief

Dr. Sandeen\'s HuffPost article:\\xa0My Husband Asked Me to Help Him Die. I Couldn\'t Do It - and My Life Changed Forever\\xa0