Robert Munsch, the beloved Canadian children鈥檚 author who has sold more than 82 million books worldwide, has been approved for medical assistance in dying (MAID) as he lives with dementia聽and Parkinson鈥檚 disease.
Munsch, who lives in Guelph, Ont., 聽he doesn鈥檛 want to linger like his brother, who died slowly from Lou Gehrig鈥檚 disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).聽
鈥淭hey kept him alive through all these interventions. I thought, 鈥楲et him die,鈥欌 Munsch, 80, said. He thinks he鈥檒l choose to go 鈥渨hen I start having real trouble talking and communicating. Then I鈥檒l know.鈥
He said a date has not been set yet, but he has to choose while he can still actively consent.
Andrea Perrin, Munsch’s assistant, confirmed the report to the Star and said Munsch would not comment further.
In , Munsch’s daughter Julie clarified that her father is “not dying.”
She added that her father made his decision to pursue MAID five years ago: “My dad is doing well but of course with a degenerative disease it can begin to progress quickly at any point.”
Munsch鈥檚 work includes bestsellers like 鈥淟ove You Forever,鈥 鈥淭he Paper Bag Princess鈥 and 鈥淢ortimer.鈥 His books have been published in 31 territories and 45 languages, according to Scholastic Canada, and he received a star on Canada鈥檚 Walk of Fame in 2009. He is also a member of the Order of Canada.
鈥楾he Paper Bag Princess,鈥 Robert Munsch鈥檚 1980 dragon tale, has been used as a springboard to
Munsch and his wife, Ann, told the New York Times he has been falling around the house. He no longer has the ability to come up with new stories. He has trouble finding words and forgets that friends have visited.
鈥淢ost days,鈥 he said, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have the urge to go tell stories.鈥
Munsch suffered a stroke in 2008 that left him unable to speak for two days, but he maintained his goal of publishing two books a year, one in the spring and one in the fall. In 2010, he said he had a history of cocaine and alcohol abuse.
Munsch revealed to the CBC in 2021 that he had dementia.
“I can’t drive, I can’t ride a bicycle, I can’t write,鈥 he told CBC then. 鈥淪o it’s been really whittling away on who I thought I was. I kind of thought I would like to do this interview as a last hurrah.”
In a on Monday, Scholastic Canada said it joins readers in 鈥済ratitude for this chance to connect with (Munsch) in a new way.鈥
鈥淗is stories will live on for generations,鈥 the company said. 鈥淲e love you forever.鈥
With files from Kevin Jiang
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