Richard Smith is an emeritus editor-on-chief of the British
Medical Journal. Just about everything
he writes is prescient. A recent piece
of his in the BMJ deals with obituaries.
What would you like your obituary to contain?
“Just as I think everybody should have a living will, a plan
for their funeral, and clear instructions on whether you want to be buried or
cremated, so I advise thinking about your obituary or even obituaries…You might
write it yourself, but many publications are sniffy about self-written
obituaries. So you might do better to get somebody to write one for you, and
that’s why Sir Anthony Grabham rang. We worked well together and liked each other,
although we were very different: him being a polished master of the
establishment, whereas I’m a 'loose cannon,' to put it mildly"
Richard Smith: Writing an Obituary of the Living
