Deleaua Shannon is a subject in the documentary film, Alternate Endings: Six New Ways to Die in America, by filmmakers Perri Peltz and Matthew O’Neill. She and her husband, Richard Shannon, married as teenagers and shared 57 years together — along with two daughters and rewarding professional careers (Richard as an electronic engineer and Deleaua as an occupational therapist). After Richard was diagnosed with a rare form of terminal cancer in 2016, they researched and pursued traditional and alternative treatments, but ultimately, the cancer won. Following Richard’s death, the choices they made when no more options were available ultimately led Deleaua to become a documentary film subject and help tell her husband’s story.
Previously
Although death is every bit as much a part of life as birth, we pretend it isn’t there. Perhaps it’s time that changed. The soon-to-be released HBO documentary Alternate Endin...