Olga Jacoby

 

Love, like strength and courage, is a strange thing; the more we give the more we find we have to give. 

Olga Jacoby 

Sara Olga Ilke was born 1874 in Germany. She married John Jacoby a lace manufacturer in London, and they adopted four children. Somewhere between 1909-1913 she was diagnosed with a terminal illness. From here she wrote about living and dying.  

In her book “Words in Pain – Letters on Life and Death” she talks about her love for her children and husband and reflection on how beautiful the world is. She was not afraid of death and looked at the realities of life with a clear head and fierceness. She was an advocate for the right to die and death with dignity. A staunch agnostic and felt justified in taking her own life. As her terminal condition worsened, she chose when she would die. She took her own life on May 6, 1913, by taking a large amount of sleeping pills available at the time.  

The above quote is a reminder that while we live, we have enough love, strength and courage to tap into and apply in our own lives and the lives of others.

Georgia