The Cheryl Hauser Effect is an intimate documentary that follows a Minnesota woman’s courageous choice to end her battle with Alzheimer’s through VSED (Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking).
At seventy-six, Cheryl became a clear and conscious advocate for end-of-life autonomy. Her choice, both deeply personal and profoundly public, has sparked a national conversation about choice, grace, and intention in dying.
Cheryl - 8 days before starting VSED
To fulfill Cheryl’s wish to educate and inform, her daughters, Wendy Longacre Brown and Sarah Longacre, are bringing her story to life. With one daughter a Death Doula and the other a Birth Doula, these doula sisters bring a rare, full-circle understanding of life’s thresholds as they shape their mother’s final chapter into a powerful documentary.
Cheryl - after planning her own memorial service
An unflinching look at Alzheimer’s
A life well lived and a death on her own terms