Thanks for reminding me of C. J. Cherryh, still alive and publishing.

One of my favorite passages near the conclusion of The Other Wind, the final EarthSea volume:

" '...But it is not right to want to die . . . For the very old, the very ill, it may be. But life is given us. Surely it's not wrong to hold and treasure that great gift!'

'Death is also given us,' said the king.

(page 243)