The Deaths of Nancy Cruzan follows an ordinary family's unexpected journey to the United States Supreme Court. The book goes behind the scenes at the painful human cost exacted in a highly public legal battle. It is the true story of an American tragedy that could visit any of us in an instant.

In 1983, Nancy Beth Cruzan lapsed into an irreversible coma from an auto accident in Jasper County, Missouri. Cruzan was discovered lying face down in a ditch without detectable respiratory or cardiac function. Paramedics were able to restore her breathing and heartbeat at the accident site, and she was transported to a hospital in an unconscious state. An attending neurosurgeon diagnosed her as having sustained cerebral injuries combined with significant lack of oxygen. The estimated length of the period without oxygen was twelve to fourteen minutes. (Permanent brain damage generally results after six minutes without oxygen...