Beginning with footage of Eelco\u2019s family granting his last wish and scattering his ashes at a local pond, this documentary follows the last three months of Eelco de Gooijer, a 38-year-old Dutch man. The first part of the documentary focuses on Eelco\u2019s relatives - his parents and his sister Monique - as well as his friend Nicole. They individually share memories of Eelco who, since childhood, had suffered with severe mental health problems diagnosed as PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder \u2013 Not Otherwise Specified). Despite many attempts to make his life less miserable, Eelco\u2019s condition remained unbearable, and he decided to end his life by euthanasia. Although immensely sad, all those close to Eelco express their support for his decision and are grateful that this option was available to him. In the second part Eelco himself is shown preparing for his death. He distributes his belongings, has a last conversation with Nicole, and writes a final entry for posthumous publication on the blog, which he has used to chronicle his life, his condition and his euthanasia journey. The film ends with footage from November 23, 2016, the day of Eelco\u2019s death. The doctor comes to his house, explains the euthanasia procedure to Eelco and his mother and administers the infusion that puts Eelco into a coma. After that, Eelco is shown sitting in a chair next to his mother until he loses consciousness.<\/p>
The documentary offers a down-to-earth view of the intersection of Dutch euthanasia law and mental health problems, including Eelco\u2019s decision-making and the grief process of those around him. By initially focusing on the perspectives of Eelco\u2019s relatives and friend, Nicole, the documentary gives context to his lifelong suffering and the decision to end his life by euthanasia. The documentary combines his family\u2019s statements of support, despite their grief, with excerpts from radio and television interviews Eelco gave about his wish to die. Such a view which normalises euthanasia for those experiencing severe mental health issues is supported by the way Eelco\u2019s death scene is depicted as peaceful, and his relatives seem relived that his final wish was granted. During his lifetime, Eelco\u2019s blog documenting his euthanasia process garnered media attention, including newspaper, radio, and television coverage. After his death, his blog entries were published as a book alongside the documentary, with the aim of foregrounding the topic of euthanasia for those suffering mental illness. Such deaths had been legal since 2002 when the Dutch euthanasia law came into effect and numbers were already rising in the years before Eelco\u2019s death. However, many cases were rejected due to lack of clarity around an individual\u2019s clinical situation or the extent to which other treatments had been attempted. In 2018 new guidelines were published aimed at doctors and psychiatrists when dealing with a patient\u2019s demand for euthanasia in connection with mental illness. Although Eelco\u2019s case and the documentary may not have been instrumental in these changes, they are representative of attempts to publicise this sort of assisted death and the media attention surrounding it around at the time.<\/p>","cover":{"ratio":1.6194331983805667629638946891645900905132293701171875,"url":"https:\/\/assistedlab.ch\/media\/pages\/visual\/t-is-goed-zo\/2548a0828f-1722968282\/komargorod_pond_2013_g3-2410x-q90.jpg","caption":"\u00a9 George Chernilevsky, Komargorod pond, Wikimedia Commons, 2013"},"toggles":[{"title":"Suggested citation","list":[{"text":"\u2018T Is Goed Zo, Assisted Lab: A Living Archive of Assisted Dying, tba ","link":null,"pathname":null}]},{"title":"Reviews","list":[{"text":"\u2018t is goed zo \u2013 het verhaal van Eelco, Corinne Hamoen, 2019","link":"https:\/\/www.corinnehamoen.nl\/2019\/03\/28\/t-is-goed-zo\/","pathname":"corinnehamoen.nl"},{"text":"\u2018t Is Goed Zo, De Docupdate, 2018","link":"https:\/\/dedocupdate.com\/2018\/11\/26\/t-is-goed-zo\/","pathname":"dedocupdate.com"}]},{"title":"Media citations","list":[{"text":"Zoon (38) Monique pleggde euthanasie: \u2018t is goed zo, Metronieuws, 2019","link":"https:\/\/www.metronieuws.nl\/in-het-nieuws\/2019\/02\/zoon-38-monique-pleegde-euthanasie-t-is-goed-zo\/","pathname":"metronieuws.nl"},{"text":"The 2019 Socially Relevant Film Festival, Counterpunch, 2019","link":"https:\/\/www.counterpunch.org\/2019\/03\/08\/the-2019-socially-relevant-film-festival\/?fbclid=IwAR2tUd-ePksX4_Idq119jS_FbyvDe5cb_uidmkQAhFJByR8mObNOmx7u13M","pathname":"counterpunch.org"},{"text":"Dutch euthanization of psychiatric patients draws scrutiny, Global Journalist, 2019","link":"https:\/\/globaljournalist.org\/2019\/03\/dutch-euthanization-of-psychiatric-patients-draws-scrutin\/?fbclid=IwAR37OIR-VYqfd41Iz4758o9M2uP0CYTn6HsA6eAq0Q4JqqKnVj2XVVl4VLc","pathname":"globaljournalist.org"},{"text":"Grand Caf\u00e9 Ode toont docu \u201c\u2019t is goed zo\u201d: de laatste momenten uit het leven van Eelco, Eindhovens Dagblad, 2019","link":"https:\/\/www.ed.nl\/tilburg\/grand-cafe-ode-toont-docu-t-is-goed-zo-de-laatste-momenten-uit-het-leven-van-eelco~a7b4bdae5\/","pathname":"ed.nl"},{"text":"\u201cVechten voor de dood van je kind\u201d, tranen bij documentaire over Eelco die niet meer wilde leven, Omroep Brabant, 2018","link":"https:\/\/www.omroepbrabant.nl\/nieuws\/2641099\/vechten-voor-de-dood-van-je-kind-tranen-bij-documentaire-over-eelco-die-niet-meer-wilde-leven","pathname":"omroepbrabant.nl"},{"text":"Indringende docu over de laatste momenten van Eelco, Brabants Dagblad, 2017","link":"https:\/\/www.bd.nl\/tilburg\/indringende-docu-over-de-laatste-momenten-van-eelco~aeb73828\/","pathname":"bd.nl"}]},{"title":"Interest Group citations","list":[{"text":"Documentaire \u2018t is goed zo op 14 december in Slieker, Leeuwaarden, Co\u00f6peratie Laatste Wil, 2018","link":"https:\/\/laatstewil.nu\/documentaire-t-is-goed-zo-op-14-december-in-slieker-leeuwaarden\/","pathname":"laatstewil.nu"},{"text":"Week can Euthanasie: verslag Jongerensymposium, Nederlandse Vereniging voor de Vrijwillige Levenseinde (NVVE), 2018","link":"https:\/\/www.nvve.nl\/actueel\/nieuws\/week-van-de-euthanasie-verslag-jongerensymposium\/","pathname":"nvve.nl"},{"text":"Documentaire \u2018t is goed zo op 14 december in Slieker, Leeuwaarden, Co\u00f6peratie Laatste Wil, 2018","link":"https:\/\/laatstewil.nu\/documentaire-t-is-goed-zo-op-14-december-in-slieker-leeuwaarden\/","pathname":"laatstewil.nu"}]}]}