The Writing on the Wind's Wall

A book about Canadian democracy today disguised as a hometown euthanasia symposium, The Writing on the Wind’s Wall: Dialogues about ‘Medical Assistance in Dying’ definitively answers these questions: How did current MAiD law come about? Who is eligible to receive MAiD? How exactly is MAiD administered? To whom? Where? Why

But to answer what MAiD is comes a community of voices, including: a disabled media-studies scholar, an ethicist, a psychiatrist, a widow, a medium, the province’s first MAiD-administrating doctor, a dead recipient in dialogue through a medium with his widow, a non-profit opponent of euthanasia, a retiree living with dementia, a death doula, an administering doctor self-described as a “first follower,” the son of a MAiD recipient, a parliamentary proponent, differing Anglican priests, and a hospice provider.

From the home of the largest university-hospital network in southwestern Ontario, son of London, Ontario Kevin Andrew Heslop, himself twice touched by MAiD, here agnostically presents a counterbalanced chandelier of mutually illuminating votive candles in honour of his late grandmother, Fern Doreen Heslop (February 6, 1934-February 8, 2025).

Available on February 6, 2026—also the anniversary of the Supreme Court of Canada’s consequential ruling—this book exemplifies Guernica Editions’ founding commitment “to publish books that address social justice issues, discover and cultivate our innate humanity, and transcend individual cultures and nations.”

Because The Writing on the Wind’s Wall aspires to journalism, the author’s 25% share of every sale will go straight to the independent, not-for-profit, Canadian news station CHCO-TV.

This book is available for pre-order.