RRP: £12.99

Save: £5.00 (38%)

& FREE Returns

FREE delivery: Tuesday, Dec 14 on your first eligible order to UK or Ireland.

Fastest delivery: Sunday, Dec 12
Order within 5 hrs 23 mins Details

Arrives before Christmas

Only 5 left in stock (more on the way).

As an alternative, the Kindle eBook is available now and can be read on any device with the free Kindle app. Want to listen? Try Audible.

££7.99 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Secure transaction

Dispatches from

Amazon

Sold by

Amazon

Details

Dispatches from

Amazon

Sold by

Amazon

Return policy: Extended holiday return window till Jan 31, 2022

Add gift options

FREE delivery: Dec 17 - 21 Details

Arrives before Christmas

Used: Good | Details

Sold by Greener_Books

Share <Embed>

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See this image

Follow the author

Guy Kennaway

Time to Go Paperback – 23 Jan. 2020

by Guy Kennaway (Author)

37 ratings

See all formats and editions

Amazon Price

New from

Used from

Kindle Edition

"Please retry"

£5.03

—

Audible Audiobooks, Unabridged

"Please retry"

£0.00

Free with your Audible trial

Hardcover

"Please retry"

£2.99

£0.82

Paperback

"Please retry"

£7.99

£3.99

£1.93

Note: This item is eligible for FREE Click and Collect without a minimum order subject to availability. Details

Enhance your purchase

In 2017 Susie Kennaway asked her son Guy to kill her.
88 years old, with an older and infirm husband, Susie wanted to avoid sliding into infantilised catatonia. The son immediately started taking notes and Time to Go is the result.
In turns a manual for those considering the benefits of assisted dying, a portrait of a mother son relationship, and a sympathetic description of old age, this book is a route map through the moral, legal, emotional, intellectual and practical maze that is the biggest issue facing the senior generations today: leaving life on their own terms.
During their conversations about when and how to make Susie's final exit, some of the difficulties of their fractious relationship mellowed and some even melted, as the reality of what they were planning brought them together.
Many elderly people, like Susie, have clearly stated that they wish to die in a manner and time of their choosing. But the church, the law, the medical profession and the pharmaceutical industry stand in the way, wagging their fingers.
A change is coming for the rights of the elderly, the way it has come for the rights of women and gay people. Time to Go is a rallying call in this fight.
Life is too precious not to be lived properly. As with a job, a relationship or a party, you have to know when it's time to go.

Print length

256 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Mensch Publishing
Publication date

23 Jan. 2020
Dimensions

12.9 x 1.7 x 19.8 cm
ISBN-10

1912914131
ISBN-13

978-1912914135
See all details

Frequently bought together

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Guy Kennaway
176
Paperback
21 offers from £0.92
Guy Kennaway
11
Hardcover
24 offers from £5.92
Guy Kennaway
33
Paperback
21 offers from £8.67

Product description

Review

A corker which should keep book clubs arguing for years. -- Lynn Barber ― The Observer

The funniest, sickest, most moving and provocative book about dying you are likely to read before you-know-who comes calling. -- Alan Taylor ― The Herald

This is a remarkable, timely and important book about assisted dying. It's also humanely clear-eyed, shrewd and surprisingly funny -- William Boyd

.not just a darkly diverting testament to old age, but a remarkably hopeful book. -- Helen Davies ― The Sunday Times

Time to Go is a sometimes manipulative but mostly hilarious book - a marshalling cry for the cause of legalising assisted suicide. Kennaway believes the law is hopelessly inadequate for the times we live in. Choosing how you die is nothing less than a human right. It's just not acknowledged as one. But it surely will be soon. -- Laura K. Jones ― The Spectator

This is such an extraordinary book. It's bracingly honest, blisteringly funny, and then it knocks you sideways with its sadness and straightens you up with its good sense. Bit of a rollercoaster, really. -- Deborah Moggach

I finished Time to Go, wonderful book, a literary masterpiece. Brutal, but you don't get the rose without the thorns. Lol funny and genuinely moving, an honourable tribute. Susie's chapter is exquisite. It's Laurence Durrell with a hacksaw. -- Mat Collishaw

Book Description

SOME THINGS IN LIFE ARE TOO SERIOUS TO JOKE ABOUT. ASSISTED DYING IS NOT ONE OF THEM.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mensch Publishing (23 Jan. 2020)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1912914131
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1912914135
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.9 x 1.7 x 19.8 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 515,181 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 542 in Ethical Issues
- 1,415 in Doctors & Medicine Humour
- 1,435 in Death & Bereavement

Customer reviews:
37 ratings

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Guy Kennaway
176
Paperback
21 offers from £0.92
Guy Kennaway
33
Hardcover
22 offers from £10.02
Guy Kennaway
11
Hardcover
24 offers from £5.92
John Carey
367
Hardcover
24 offers from £3.28
Anne Tyler
7,159
Paperback
33 offers from £2.03
Kathryn Mannix
2,112
Paperback
25 offers from £7.49

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Guy Kennaway

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Guy Kennaway is a writer of fiction and memoir. He is best known for his novels ONE PEOPLE, about village life in Jamaica, BIRD BRAIN, about a bunch of optimistic pheasants, and for his memoir TIME TO GO about killing his mother (with her permission.). His most recent novel, THE ACCIDENTAL COLLECTOR, won the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction in 2021. His most recent memoir is FOOT NOTES, a broad comedy about race and nationality which he wrote with his relative Hussein Sharif.

‘In all my writing my aim is to delight and amuse,’ Kennaway has said. ‘Hopefully I make people laugh out loud. Laughter is our most effective weapon in the battle against the difficulties and struggles of life. If I can transport my reader to a happy, joyful world, my mission is successful.’

‘I always think of my reader as wise, worldy and equipped with a sharp sense of humour. If you are not like this, my books are probably annoying and hopefully offensive.’

Customer reviews

5 star		72%
4 star		11%
3 star		13%
2 star		5%
1 star 0% (0%)		0%

How are ratings calculated?

Top reviews from United Kingdom

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

The Last Laugh...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 March 2019

Verified Purchase

This is not just a thought-provoking addition to the assisted-dying debate, but a witty, warm, and poignant account of a family facing the unsettling prospect of life ‘in extremis’. Sharply-observed, wry and affectionate, Kennaway’s story centres on his relationship with a mother who has decided to take matters into her own hands when old age makes her life intolerable. In a general sense the book reminded me of Mollie Keane’s marvellously observed accounts of eccentric Irish gentry, a writer who “captured her class in all its vicious snobbery and genteel racism”, but most particularly of Mary Wesley and her ‘suicide’ novel “Jumping The Queue” in which the heroine, Matilda, decides to drown herself following the death of her husband. When her own husband died, Mary Wesley’s mother had said that rather than suffer a similarly lingering death, she was going to crawl to the beach and swim out to sea. To which her daughter, Mary, replied, “I’ll help you.” While Wesley’s dealings with her mother were notoriously difficult and far from amicable, it is abundantly clear that Kennaway’s relationship with his fiery, free-spirited and frequently litigious mother, Susie, is altogether deeper, fonder, and always gently respectful. Which makes his story – and hers – so real and moving, just the most delightful if sometimes harrowing account of elderly life and its ultimate boundary. If there is a caveat here, it is a very, very small one – that when it comes to the where and the when of assisted dying we should continue to be cautious. What one wants one day, one may not want the next. In this context it is worth considering the final few paragraphs of this book when Kennaway’s mother, in true Susie style, enjoys the very last and longest laugh. Do read this book… it really is very good indeed.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Wilfrid Legg

A bittersweet must read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 March 2019

Verified Purchase

A refreshing, funny, frank and highly readable book by Guy Kennaway of his formidable and elderly mother Susie's wish to choose the time, place and circumstances of her death. In doing so it makes one of the most convincing cases for people's right to end-of-life suicide, assisted or not - especially in the chapter written by his mother. The often uncomfortable account of the death of his stepfather in their home in the Tarn area of France gives extra poignancy to the narrative. The perceptive and amusing observations of life in France, of family, friends and neigbours, adds colour to the story. The tone of the book is optimistic - with a big dose of self deprecation. The reality is that we all have to go at some time and, if possible, better to do so by taking control while we still have our faculties and dignity. But we are left still awaiting the rest of Susie's story.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

MKT

Thoroughly enjoyable read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 October 2019

Verified Purchase

Picked this book up on a recommendation, and glad I did. Having warned my own children that once I become incapable of doing certain 'personal' tasks, they have to make sure I'm dispatched quickly, it was interesting to see how Guy responded to his mother, Susie's, request. I was pleased it brought them closer together, and did have a couple of laugh out loud moments.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Mrs Robinson

Choosing when to Go

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 March 2019

Verified Purchase

Choosing when to die I think should be everyone's right. I laughed and cried reading this book, I couldn't put it down. It builds a wonderful story of a not always easy mother and son relationship, and roars through to the end with enormous dignity and humour. It has left me with plenty to think about and a lasting hope that the law may one day change. Definitely the Right Time for this book.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Gareth

Time to read and think about

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 February 2020

Verified Purchase

A fascinating story. Can we control the end of our own lives without interference from a host of do gooders?
Up to a point yes but the means are not readily available. The worst situation is when dementia takes over and the torture is transferred to your relatives and an incapable and uncaring medical hierarchy.

A grim prospect.

Helpful

Ian H

A thought provoking, funny yet heart warming read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 September 2019

Verified Purchase

It took me a couple of chapters to get in to this book but you almost feel like a friend of the family by the end. Though I am sure Susie will be indigant at such a presumptious thought as my last sentence:-)

This shoul be compulsory reading for all MPs who oppose the Assisted Dýing bill.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 July 2020

Verified Purchase

My dad asked me get this for him as he had seen it advertised & he has not stopped laughing! Loves it as its very funny & so I'm reading it next!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 June 2021

Verified Purchase

Only just started the book.Bit boring

Helpful

Amazon Music Stream millions of songs	AbeBooks Books, art & collectables	ACX Audiobook Publishing Made Easy	Amazon Web Services Scalable Cloud Computing Services

Audible Download Audiobooks	Book Depository Books With Free Delivery Worldwide	DPReview Digital Photography	Goodreads Book reviews & recommendations

Amazon Home Services Experienced pros Happiness Guarantee	IMDb Movies, TV & Celebrities	Kindle Direct Publishing Indie Digital & Print Publishing Made Easy	Shopbop Designer Fashion Brands

Amazon Warehouse Deep Discounts Open-Box Products	Amazon Business Service for business customers	Whole Foods Market We Believe in Real Food

Select Your Cookie Preferences

Follow the author

Similar authors to follow