My name is Joanne Tubbs Kelly. My husband, Alan Kelly, used the provisions of Colorado’s End-of-Life Options Act to end his suffering on January 11, 2020. Getting to that point was no easy feat — for either of us…
When I am faced with a new situation, I usually look for books that will show me how others have navigated the particular challenge I’m facing. So when Alan was in his final months of life, and I knew he wanted to die with dignity, I looked for a memoir about a husband-and-wife team who had traveled this road together. But I came up empty handed.
So I wrote that memoir. The one I wanted to read.
She Writes Press published my memoir, “Walking Him Home: Helping My Husband Die with Dignity,” on August 9, 2022.
More information about me:
I was born in an army camp in Kentucky and moved around a lot as a kid. But I spent most of my youth in Upstate New York. I graduated from Empire State College (part of the New York State University system) with a degree in fine art. I spent more than a decade as a stay-at-home mom to my two children.
After divorcing my first husband, I moved to Colorado in 1985. I settled in Boulder in 1990, which is where I still live. I married Alan in 1997, after he hired me to write a newsletter for his company’s customers. I spent most of my career working as a freelance writer, producing marketing materials for high-tech companies. My most steadfast clients, Hewlett-Packard Company, Agilent Technologies and Keysight Technologies, kept me very busy.
At the same time, I was active in the non-profit sector. In addition to serving on other boards, I was president of the board of directors for Colorado’s chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness for several years. I co-founded a non-profit organization called Interfaith Network on Mental Illness, which aims to educate faith communities and encourage them to welcome and embrace their congregants who struggle with mental health challenges.
I retired from both my marketing career and my non-profit advocacy work in 2015, when it became clear that Alan was seriously ill, although he would not get a definitive diagnoses of multiple system atrophy for two more years.
In my free time, I love to read and putter in my garden. I feel incredibly blessed to live in such a beautiful place, and I love to walk or hike where I can soak in the beauty of Colorado’s stunning scenery.