In "The Gentle Death," Maurits Verzele defends every person's right to decide about their own life and death. He respects the personal decision for assisted suicide, although he only approves of very specific motives as justification for it. The author precisely describes the various methods of suicide and lists the advantages and disadvantages of each technique. In the Netherlands, Belgium, and France, his book has long become a widely discussed guide on the methods of assisted suicide and euthanasia.