UPDATE JANUARY 22, 2026: The VSED Handbook is available in paperback and ebook from Barnes & Noble. B&N sells ebooks in EPUB format, but you do need the free Nook app to read books purchased from B&N. (The paperback is also back on Amazon after re-publication on Draft2Digital; it’s missing half of its reviews and has a different ISBN number, and I suggest you buy it from B&N instead, though it is the same book.) For other options, please check the main book page.
Hi friends. I know, it’s been a while. Like, a loooong while. Since the publication of my last blog post, my father became very ill from Lewy Body dementia, declined quickly, and went on Hospice. Lewy Body is an awful affliction, even worse than Alzheimer’s in our family’s experience, and he was very ill when he died in the fall of 2024.
Being an adult orphan after helping see both parents through dementia is a whole, entire thing, and I have definitely been on quite the grief journey. I had little interest in writing fiction or even blog posts for many months, and I busied myself with house projects and spending time with my family, all while wondering, “What next?” But recently, I’ve been sensing the old writing vibes stirring. I have notes on two new projects, and I’m actively researching one. I don’t think it’ll be long before I have sample chapters to share with my Patreon folks.
Alas, that’s not why I’m writing. This blog post is to explain why my book about my mother’s end-of-life journey, The VSED Handbook, has gone missing suddenly from Amazon, the only vendor I’d sourced for the paperback version. Ebook copies are still available through Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and elsewhere, but of course, Amazon is the biggest bookstore in the world, so that’s where I get most sales, for better or for worse.
Over this past weekend (January 11, 2026), I received an automated email from Amazon KDP explaining that my book, The VSED Handbook, had been removed from publication due to violation of Amazon KDP’s content guidelines. In the days that followed, I requested more details a handful of times. Finally, I received confirmation that the book was blocked from further sale and its product description page–along with all of its ratings and reviews–had been wiped from the site due to its “subject matter” providing a “poor customer experience.” After four years on sale, the book had somehow triggered a quality review that determined VSED is a violation of KDP guidelines, despite the fact it is a legal end-of-life option specifically for terminally and seriously ill people, not for the general public.
It’s not just my book, either. I know of at least four other titles that share information or personal stories about VSED that have been banned from Amazon’s catalog as well. In discussions with these other authors, we have agreed that it is likely the result of an AI bot/algorithm programmed to exercise heightened sensitivity around suicide after the recent uproar over AI encouraging users to end their lives. That doesn’t make it right, of course, and we’re all still disappointed that something like this could happen. Unsurprised, but disappointed.
I’ve tried to reach a human at Amazon to resolve the issue every day this week, to no avail. But today, after multiple points of contact, I finally received an email that might actually have been authored by a human, indicating that they were researching my request for an appeal and to allow five business days for an update.
UPDATE JANUARY 22, 2026: Amazon rejected my appeals and is refusing to sell the KDP Amazon version of the book in ebook or paperback, based on the objectionable nature of its subject matter. Grrrrr. Please buy the book elsewhere if you can. Barnes & Noble carries both digital and print versions.
In the meantime, I am producing another paperback version through my account at Draft2Digital. It’ll be the same book with a different ISBN, and since D2D uses IngramSpark’s print-on-demand (POD) services and distribution for its print book offerings, the end result (I hope) should be that The VSED Handbook is available from even more distributors, not fewer–including independent bookstores and libraries.
I’ll update this blog post and the book page on this website with future developments.
Homodramatica 
I just finished reading a friend’s “The VSED Handbook” and decided to buy my own copy. It is by far the best thing I’ve read about the details of preparing for and implementing VSED. I will feel more secure when I have a copy on my bookshelf, and I’m grateful to you for going the extra mile to make the book available through other booksellers. Thank you for sharing your experience and for educating the rest of us.
Thanks so much for your note and for offering additional motivation to keep fighting this. There have definitely been moments this past week where I’ve felt like giving up, but notes like yours remind me why I wrote the book in the first place–not just to honor my mom’s legacy, but to try to give others a sense of empowerment and a little bit of peace if faced with a devastating diagnosis. So yeah, I’ll keep you posted! And thanks again for connecting. 🙏
Good news! The paperback is available. You can find it on Barnes and Noble by searching the title and author, or you can order from Amazon. It’s a new record on Amazon, so you would need to do a search on author and title there as well. Google has not updated any links, so searching directly on either site is the way to go. Or you can go to the book page (https://katejchristie.com/books/the-vsed-handbook/) and check the “Purchasing Options” section midway down. I’ve updated it accordingly.