How poet Richard Harrison found peace with his mother's choice of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD), by seeing himself in a story 2000 years old. In July 2017, Richard Harrison attended his mother’s medically-assisted death. His experience led him to reflect on the lack of stories around such moments. Now, what he has to share about the experience of medically-assisted death can help spark a conversation around our disconnect with death. Harrison is the author of six books of poetry, among them On Not Losing My Father’s Ashes in the Flood, which won the Governor General’s Award for English Language Poetry in 2017, and which was translated and published in Italy the following year. As well as being an editor and essayist on a range of topics, among them hockey, mathematics, comics and graphic novels, and the meaning of the wheel, Harrison teaches English and creative writing at Calgary’s Mount Royal University. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx