Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Offering Permission 1
Chapter 2 Extending the Invitation 17
The Prompts 35
If you had only thirty days left to live, how would you spend them? Your last day? Your last hour? 37
What foods do you remember a departed loved one cooking for you? 49
If you were to design your own funeral or memorial, what would it look like? 55
Is there an excess of medical intervention at the end of life? 62
Do you have your will, advance-care directives, and power of attorney complete, and if not, why? 73
What is the most significant end-of-life experience of which you've been a part? 80
Why don't we talk about death? 94
How do you talk to kids about death? 101
Do you believe in an afterlife? 108
Would you ever consider doctor-assisted suicide? 117
What song would you want played at your funeral? Who would sing it? 124
Are you an organ donor? 131
What does a good death look like? 139
What do you want done with your body? 147
Are there certain deaths we should never speak of? 159
If you could extend your life, how many years would you add? Twenty, fifty, one hundred, forever? 170
What do you want your legacy to he? 179
How long should we grieve? 188
What would you eat for your last meal? 202
Is there a way you want to feel on your deathbed? 206
What would you want people to say about you at your funeral? 211
How do you end a conversation about death? 216
Acknowledgments 223
Recommendations for Further Reading 225
Our Family of Resources 227
Notes 232
Index 239
