Life is terminal.Everyone ages. Accidents happen. Illness is unavoidable. No one lives forever. You already know this—but most of us live as if we don’t.
In
Life Is Terminal: A Doctor’s Common-Sense Guide for Making It to the End, Dr. Arthur H. Parsons challenges readers to stop avoiding these fundamental truths and start using them as a foundation for wiser health and life decisions. With clarity, candour, and decades of clinical experience, he invites you to examine your beliefs about health, aging, and mortality—and to ask whether those beliefs are actually serving you.
Today, we are overwhelmed by half-truths, medical myths, celebrity “experts,” wellness influencers, and online misinformation. Knowing who—or what—to trust has never been harder. Drawing on 45 years as a family physician, Dr. Parsons cuts through the noise, showing you how to reclaim your own common sense and apply it to the health care you seek and the life you lead.
Beginning with a clear definition of what “common sense” really means in medicine and in life,
Life Is Terminal takes an unflinching look at:
- How your personal beliefs about health and health care shape your decisions
- Who you listen to—and why—when it comes to medical advice
- How fear, denial, and magical thinking undermine good judgment
- Why taking responsibility for your choices matters more than ever
This book is not about false promises or living forever. It’s about facing reality, refusing victimhood, and navigating the unpredictable twists of health and illness with honesty, responsibility, and resilience—right to the end, whenever that may be.
About the AuthorDR. ARTHUR H. PARSONS practiced family medicine and hypnotherapy for 45 years, including 28 years in a busy obstetrical practice. A graduate of the Dalhousie University School of Medicine in Halifax, Nova Scotia, he was also a principal in Atlantic Offshore Medical Associates for 33 years, providing occupational health and medical services to offshore oil companies in the North Atlantic.
Deeply involved in medical ethics and policy, Dr. Parsons served for ten years as Chair of the Canadian Medical Association’s Ethics Committee, was a director of the Canadian Society of Medical Bioethics, and served as President of the Canadian Association of Medical Clinics. He is the co-author of four previous health books, including
Hippocrates Now! Is Your Doctor Ethical? (University of Toronto Press) and
When Older Is Wiser: A Guide to Healthcare Decisions for Older Adults and Their Families (Doubleday Canada). Dr. Parsons lives in Toronto.
DR. ARTHUR PARSONS practiced family medicine and clincial hypnotherapy for 45 years, 28 of which included a busy obstetrical practice. A graduate of the Dalhousie University School of Medicine in Halifax, Canada, Parsons was also a partner in Atlantic Offshore Medical Associates for 33 years, providing occupational health and medical services to off-shore oil companies in the North Atlantic. Some of his volunteer work in medical politics included ten years as the Chairman of Canadian Medical Association's Ethics, and a term as a director for the Canadian Society of Medical Bioethics. H is also the co-author of four health previous books including Hippocrates Now! Is Your Doctor Ethical? (University of Toronto Press) and When Older is Wiser: A Guide to Healthcare Decisions for Older Adults and their Families (Doubleday Canada), and Patient Power! The Smart Patient's Guide to Health Care (University of Toronto Press). In his free time, Dr. Parsons is a musician. He currently lives in Toronto.
