Welcome to the stunning Mill Valley Library where I will be moderating a panel discussion with three authors offering distinct perspectives on access to care at the end of life. Join us and join the conversation! RSVP HERE

Katy Butler is a longtime Mill Valley resident and the author of two nonfiction books on preparing for a good end of life, Knocking on Heaven’s Door and The Art of Dying Well. Knocking on Heaven’s Door was a New York Times bestseller, and The Art of Dying Well has been taught by numerous religious groups, including Spirit Rock, in courses on preparing for a good end of life. Butler has written for the New York Times magazine, the Wall Street Journal, Best American Essays, Best American Science Writing, and other leading publications.

Mark Dowie is a longtime resident of Inverness, the author of nine books, including his most recent, Judith Letting Go. He was a founding publisher and editor at Mother Jones Magazine and is an emeritus lecturer at The University of California Graduate School of Journalism where he taught science, environmental reporting and foreign correspondence. Dowie's works have won nineteen journalism awards, including four National Magazine Awards, a George Polk Award, a William Allen White Gold Medal, and a Media Alliance's Meritorious Award for Lifetime Achievement. 

Amy Shea is an essayist with an MFA and a doctorate in creative writing, and is the author of Too Poor to Die: The Hidden Realities of Dying in the Margins, which is being published in September 2025 by Rutgers University Press. Her work has appeared in The Missouri Review, Pangyrus, Portland Review, The Massachusetts Review, Spry Literary Journal, Fat City Review, From Glasgow to Saturn, & the Journal of Sociology of Health & Illness. She works as the Writing Program Director for Mount Tamalpais College, a free community college for the incarcerated people of San Quentin.