Before you turn the page and start chapter one, I wanted the opportunity to tell you how hard this book was to write. There are ethical situations in this book that will likely bring tears to many people’s eyes. The cold sterile words in a book do not come close to describing how it feels to watch a parent suffer from the end stages of bone cancer. Most people will never comprehend the daily stress and desperation involved with infertility. Or the pain involved in watching a loved one take that lonely dive into Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease. But I want you to know this book was not written to bring tears to your eyes.

I did not write this book in a sterile vacuum without feelings. I am human—and just like you, I understand what pain feels like. My brother was temporarily placed on life support and died at the tender age of 24. I watched firsthand as Parkinson’s disease stole my step-father’s motor skills and eventually his ability to swallow. In college, I worked in an Alzheimer’s facility—an experience I will likely never forget. I spent two years working in the Emergency Department and and Surgical Intensive Care Unit at Vanderbilt Medical Center.

I watched countless times as families lives were torn apart at the sudden loss of a parent or child. I witnessed families having to make extremely tough life or death choices—most unprepared to do so. I shed tears with doctors and nurses over the loss of children that could not be resuscitated. And, I spent six years studying to earn a doctorate in Anatomy and Neurobiology at the University of Tennessee Medical School in Memphis.

This book is not just a cold sterile book of ethics. It is the culmination of a lifetime spent studying science and God’s Word, along with a lifetime spent caring for people I love. I freely admit I do not possess every answer for every situation. And I will even add that there are some situations that it appears there are no good answers. However, this book was written to help provide you with a framework that you can use to discern God’s will. It is my prayer that each chapter will come across with a spirit of humility and love—and will educate you in what God’s Word has to say on each topic.

I don’t expect this book to answer every single question. It was never intended to do so. Instead, I hope this book will help train your mind to always consider God’s Word first when making decisions. John 17:17 says, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” That is the central message of this book.

While I hope you never have to face some of the situations that are described in this book, I pray that His Word is a healing balm in the event that you do. And I pray that the Bible becomes your standard for right and wrong. Our nation has abandoned a biblical standard for morality. It is time Christians let their lights shine and remind them that truth can be found…now more than ever, it’s critical.

In Christian love,

Brad