--- description: Sherwin B. Nuland, who wrote an award-winning book that became central to the ongoing debate regarding assisted suicide, has died from prostate cancer title: Sherwin B. Nuland, Author of 'How We Die' Dies at 83 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt32c35af4279d4145/698683ee169ab05766278168/nuland_0305.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [obituary](/tag/obituary/) ## obituary Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # _How We Die_ Author Dies Aged 83 by [Michelle Arrouas](/author/michelle-arrouas/) ## Michelle Arrouas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 5, 2014 9:45 AM CUT  In this Nov. 16, 1994, file photo, The National Book Awards prize winning writers Sherwin B. Nuland, center, William Gaddis, left, and James Tate greet each other after the awards ceremony in New York. Nuland, has died at age 83 In this Nov. 16, 1994, file photo, The National Book Awards prize winning writers Sherwin B. Nuland, center, William Gaddis, left, and James Tate greet each other after the awards ceremony in New York. Nuland, has died at age 83Adam Nadel / AP by [Michelle Arrouas](/author/michelle-arrouas/) ## Michelle Arrouas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 5, 2014 9:45 AM CUT Dr. Sherwin B. Nuland, the author of the award-winning book _How We Die_, died in his home on Monday after battling prostate cancer. He was 83. _How We Die_ was published in 1994 and won a National Book Award for its description of the destructiveness of dying. The book became part of the moral and legal debate over physician-assisted suicide in the U.S. Nuland leaves behind his wife, four children and four grandchildren. His daughter, Victoria Jane Nuland, is the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian affairs. \[[The New York Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/05/us/sherwin-b-nuland-author-who-challenged-concept-of-dignified-death-dies-at-83.html?%5Fr=2 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/12645/sherwin-nuland-how-we-die-author-dies/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/12645/sherwin-nuland-how-we-die-author-dies/"},"headline":"How We Die Author Dies Aged 83","datePublished":"2014-03-05T09:45:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:34:55.431Z","description":"Sherwin B. Nuland, who wrote an award-winning book that became central to the ongoing debate regarding assisted suicide, has died from prostate cancer","url":"https://time.com/12645/sherwin-nuland-how-we-die-author-dies/","keywords":["obituary","prostate cancer"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt32c35af4279d4145/698683ee169ab05766278168/nuland_0305.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Michelle Arrouas","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/michelle-arrouas/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt32c35af4279d4145/698683ee169ab05766278168/nuland_0305.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"nuland_0305","caption":"In this Nov. 16, 1994, file photo, The National Book Awards prize winning writers Sherwin B. Nuland, center, William Gaddis, left, and James Tate greet each other after the awards ceremony in New York. Nuland, has died at age 83","creditText":"Adam Nadel / AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/obituary/","name":"obituary"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/12645/sherwin-nuland-how-we-die-author-dies/","name":"How We Die Author Dies Aged 83"}}]}] ```