A Note from Dr. John Horton

Welcome to my website.

Good to Go is my second book (my first book was The Inner Game of Stress, co-authored with Timothy Gallwey). Good to Go is partly a guidebook to the last chapter of life, and partly a memoir of my transformation as a doctor. In learning alongside my patients, I went from being intimidated and fearful of death to being myself good to go. The core of this book is the short stories of remarkable patients that helped me overcome my fears, confusions and doubts about dying. Looking back over 50 years of general medical practice, these patients are gifts that I want to share. We all have similar doubts, confusions, and fears about dying. These patients can also be your guides.

Sushila as a writing partner has the perspective of a mother of young children and a carer to an elderly partner. During the lengthy birthing of this book, her youngest child was born and her husband suffered a stroke. The innocence and joy of an infant are not so different to that of a peaceful last chapter. Her keen interest in the nature of human existence is the connection that resonates with my many years of being in the most challenging of human experiences – birth, sickness, old age and death.

If we are committed to being fully conscious there is wisdom to be gained in whatever happens in life – the good, the bad and the ugly. Knowing the peaceful, joyful, timeless nature of existence is the best gift of being human.

Being a good doctor is measured in kindness, cultivating the qualities of life we all need to know, generosity of time, clinical competence, hopefulness, and empathy. I will share my learning of this in future articles, podcasts, video interviews and books.