Bill Wilson asked for whisky on his death bed

So, who here would have given it to him?

@McTeague the man had shown incredible will power over many years if he was on his death bed and he wanted a drink I think one dram of something special would not be too much to give.

If he was asking to get steaming drunk that would be a different matter.

I'm ambivalent. On the one hand, no harm can come of it. In that case, make it a really good whisky.

On the other, what if he regrets drinking it, giving up decades of sobriety, just before he dies?

I suppose if there was time, as a clinician, I would explore the issue with him and let him be sure that he would be comfortable with his choice.

@McTeague Without knowing very many details and without being qualified in any way shape or form (unlike Nozinan) my gut instinct is to have given it to him. The man was on his death bed, who am I to deny one of his last requests? Especially one so delicious. :)

It's a tough call.

Bill Wilson was a hard core alcoholic. So his purpose would have been to get shitfaced, not just to taste a few nice scotches before he went off. I probably would not approve of a man dying drunk. But I can't really say what I would do unless I was confronted with the situation first hand. I am not even sure I believe the story.

That said, I am reminded of Bill Wilson's famous letter to C.J.Jung in 1961, thanking Jung for his contributions to the founding of AA. (here: www.barefootsworld.net/wilsonletter.html). And Jung's famous reply (here www.barefootsworld.net/jungletter.html.)

The man is dying! He can't harm himself or others at that point... I'd give him a dram... and a pint to go with it!

@OCeallaigh

You have a valid point there. When my grandfather had metastatic cancer I encouraged him to eat the foods he liked despite his diabetes (my guilt for watching him like a hawk the preceding years) but he either didn't want them or was too trained to keep his sugars under control.

However, at the end of life, there can be a lot of introspection. For someone who kicked a devastating addiction, the psychological effect of having a drink, even if it's soon before he dies, could give him a sense of failure. A loss of one thing he had control over.

So I would certainly not refuse it, but I would want to be sure that doing it wouldn't cause unintended suffering for him.